PR moves fast.
Platforms evolve overnight and cultural moments come and go. If you want to stay relevant, you cannot rely on one perspective (or generation) to keep up.
It’s why one of our greatest agency super-powers is having a truly multigenerational team.
We’ve got team members of all ages and that mix provides constant intentional collaboration.
Each Monday, we gather for “coffee talks” – a chance to unpack the news of the day, what’s trending and what’s shifting. Inevitably, this is when someone tells me about a new Instagram feature or influencer I didn’t know about. (Campbell Puckett, anyone?) And I’m grateful for it.
But learning flows both ways.
I may not follow the influencers my younger colleagues do, but it’s key that I know who they are. Just like they should understand the cultural touchstones that shaped us (ahem) Boomers.
Bobby Darin (thank you, Jonathan Groff)…the Partridge Family…Billy Joel.
Yes, Billy Joel.
I’ll admit it: years ago, when a young staffer told me she had not heard of him, it shook me to the core. Or when Robert Redford passed away last year, it hit me in the gut to realize that some folks didn’t know who he was. It’s a reminder of how easily we can assume shared context when it may no longer exist.
And that’s the point.
PR is translation work. It’s about understanding people – across ages, platforms and lived experiences – and shaping messages that land. A multigenerational team pressure tests ideas in real time.
Younger voices bring immediacy and cultural radar. More seasoned voices bring context, perspective and earned insight. Together, they catch blind spots before they become missteps. (No one should operate in a cultural vacuum!)
In a world where relevance has a short shelf life, curiosity doesn’t retire and experience doesn’t expire. That’s part of our secret sauce – and it’s why our work is stronger for it.