Author: citizen

Global communications agency expands digital services and significantly grows team to accelerate the impact of earned media

New York, N.Y. (February 1, 2023): Today, global communications agency, Citizen Relations, announced the expansion of its global digital capabilities. Boosting earned with the power of digital, their strengthened integrated service enables the agency to influence audiences more effectively, with more personalization, performance and dynamic content to better connect marketing, sales and data. 

“While Citizen has been providing social and digital communications services to its clients for years, we felt there was much more to be done,” said Nick Cowling, Citizen’s CEO. “We wanted to build an offering that would drive conversation surgically, bring our campaigns to life online in a truly connected fashion and deliver performance like never before –  our new digital team is doing just that.”  

Led by Crystalyn Stuart-Loayza, Citizen’s Chief Digital Officer, Citizen calls its new brand of digital “dComm3”, which brings together a growing team of 15+ technical experts across strategy, activation and intelligence, embedding digital across the way earned programs are built, executed and measured – ultimately bridging brands into what’s next in web 3.

“Our brand of digital communications challenges convention with innovative solutions in four key ways, “ says Stuart-Loayza. “To start, we’re building next-generation content performance and effectiveness models boosted with orchestrated tech and high automation for faster, more effective ways to communicate.  Secondly, we’re leading in off-page search, bridging Citizen’s conversation know-how with user intent to capture greater share of market and voice. We’re also leading the next generation of social with owned communities and a new breed of web-forward community engagement for more digital intimacy and value. Finally, we’re focused on evolving the influencer marketing landscape with entirely new models that bridge media buying, affiliate, social algorithm hacks and a new breed of creator collaborations for clients seeking solutions in this growing category of influence.”

dComm3 has already begun to seamlessly orchestrate modern solutions for Citizen clients, including Molson Coors, and is actively acquiring talent that bolsters the agency’s capability across the following categories:

Citizen’s evolution aims to digitally enable and empower its clients to achieve better communications results today,  test and learn from new collaborations/models and solutions and push the boundaries as the digital world rapidly changes. 

Citizen’s digital communications team (practicing dComm3) is led by: 

• Crystalyn Stuart-Loayza – Chief Digital Officer: Crystalyn is a passionate digital transformationalist with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing, focused on helping brands supercharge programs with digital. She’s been an early social media pioneer and leader in digital content and is currently a specialist in building interactive experiences. 
• Cara Peckens – SVP, Digital R&D and Technology: Cara is a seasoned marketing & technology professional and integrated strategist, with over 15 years of experience. She co-creates, packages, and operationalizes innovative and digital-first marketing capabilities and products. 
• Laura Brown – VP, Digital Strategy: Laura brings 15 years of experience in advertising and public relations agencies. She leads teams to develop digitally-led creative communications campaigns, channel plans, influencer marketing campaigns, paid media plans, community strategies and content development
• Daniel Sendecki – VP, Performance Content: Daniel is an award-winning print, digital and content strategist for B2B, B2C, and D2C brands. Bringing nearly 20 years of experience, Daniel has a proven history of establishing and supporting revenue and profitability through strategic content development.

To learn more about Citizen’s digital offerings, visit our digital page.

It’s 2023, and I still think about that Geocities website I made in the 90’s about Sailor Moon. (And before you ask, yes it did include fanfiction). With guestbooks, webrings, and Yahoo Chat in tow, I was able to find my people and geek out about our shared passions in our little dark corner of the internet. It was the best; I had community-driven destinations where I knew I could find exactly what I was looking for, and nothing else to distract me. 

All of a sudden in the mid-2000s, we were met with tools to not just connect with IRL friends and expand our niche online tribes, but literally anyone with an internet connection and enough know-how to create and utilize a social media account could broadcast whatever they wanted. This shift from 1-to-1 comms, to 1-to-few comms, to 1-to-many comms came on so quickly that we all picked up some bad communications habits along the way – both as humans and as marketers. And now, all this time later, I think we need to return back again to those good old days of organic community and content that the World Wide Web initially promised us, ironically enough to stay modern as how we find connection on the internet evolves. 

Here are three modern ways we’re thinking about organic social communications at Citizen in 2023 and beyond: 

New Platforms Without Ads Require New Ways to Outreach

How will you speak and be spoken to on emerging channels and communities?

In a more decentralized world of social media, where creators monetize goods directly and platforms don’t have stabilized ad models yet, organic dialogue is the only way for brands to join the community. To authentically engage in Web3 spaces, one might consider game builders, avatars, even XR builders to communicate on our brands’ behalf, but first and foremost as a community member rather than as an advertiser.  

Over-Reliance on Paid Has Limited Organic Narrative Building

How can you better integrate organic content into your production mix?

Brands have over-indexed on paid reliance and organic narrative building can be just the supplement to boost performance on investment. We’re all pros at developing and maintaining marketing funnels that drive action, but what about those organic communications funnels that drive affinity and word of mouth? In 2023, we’re reminding our clients about those who have already chosen to follow our brands in social media and build many awesome things to reinvigorate their brand love, wherever they may roam online. 

The Evolution of Search Requires Natural Language Organic Content 

How’s your owned content narrative?

Sometimes in PR, we work with clients who swear they don’t have any “new news” to share, which they’re concerned could impact their newsworthiness and search ranking. In order to own their share of search, brands need stronger, natural language-driven organically-built content. Specializing in organic search engine optimization in platforms like TikTok, Instagram, GiPHY and Pinterest where more Gen Z/Alpha audiences are seeking to discover is growing more and more important. As is building organic content and linking strategies that drive a halo of highly optimized brand share of voice. 

At Citizen, we help build, protect, and drive reputation and share of voice through innovative digital communications strategies that are forged with PR-know-how and are Web3 ready. And we want to know, Is your big bet for 2023 reinforcing your organic content strategy and production model? Reach out to us at citizendigital@citizenrelations.com to start the conversation. 

About The Author: 

Laura brings 15 years of experience in advertising and public relations agencies. She leads teams to develop digitally-led creative communications campaigns, channel plans, influencer marketing campaigns, paid media plans, community strategies and content development.

 Having just passed the classic January PR moment, Blue Monday, we can acknowledge that many of the things we were going to give up, either didn’t happen or haven’t made us happy. So, what can we, as communications professionals, do more of moving forward that will set us up for success in 2023? Here are five easy things we can all start doing more of today. 

1. Listen: clients need our ears right now. They need us to understand the environments they’re operating in (whether internal, competitive, regulatory or political), their challenges, audiences, channels, sometimes their colleagues, other times their hopes, fears or personal circumstances. Listening is how we build relationships, how we show we care, how we understand and it is what leads to conversations that count. Take the time to listen to what your clients need to say. If you’d like to know more about the power of a great listener, listen to this.
2. Laugh: now is the time to bring the joy. We should bring our sense of humour to work, daily. My colleagues know that I love the phrase, “it’s PR, not ER”. If you can’t find lightness and joy in your daily working life, something’s wrong. Every relationship benefits from the presence of humour and that includes our client and colleague relationships. Bring joy to brainstorms, to the client calls, to the office kitchen and the team zoom. Check out HBR for more on the benefits of fun at work. 
3. Question: for me, curiosity is a comms professional’s best friend. It is at the heart of creativity. It propels us to innovate, to iterate, to build and to grow. And in this era of misinformation and disinformation, there’s no better time to question the source of the information you’re consuming. So let’s question our beliefs, our assumptions, our experiences and see what a different perspective might unlock. Need help? Check this out.
4. Replenish: we all need to build our resilience. Another phrase I love, “you can’t pour out of an empty cup”. Much has been written about the state of exhaustion that people are in right now following the whirlwind that was 2022. This is going to be a tough year professionally and personally for many, emotionally and financially. Take the time to fill your cup – do what rejuvenates you. Book your time off, take the time off and recharge. Your creativity, patience, listening skills and humour will thank you for it. Some useful tips on how to build resilience here.
5. Serve: we’re in client service so let’s think about how we serve – both our clients and our colleagues. It means focusing on the needs of others, before you consider your own. Acknowledging other people’s perspectives. Giving people the support they need to meet their work and personal goals, involving them in decisions where appropriate, and building a sense of community. Happy outcomes include higher engagement, more trust, and stronger relationships. If you’re interested in knowing more about servant leadership, read this. 

Welcome to Citizen Insider, a monthly blog where you’ll get a chance to hear from one of our Citizens. Today, Toronto Account Director Nancy D’Souza shares her ex-pat holiday reflections.

The holiday season always makes me reflect on everything that I’m grateful for.

Last month marked my one-year anniversary since moving to Canada. It’s been a fantastic, eventful year, made even better in the last six months since joining the team at Citizen.

My husband and I packed up our lives in Dubai into 12 big boxes, we sold our car, canceled our phone lines/bank/hydro accounts and moved 11,000kms to the other side of the world. We’re not the only ones to do so – Canada welcomes millions of immigrants each year – and yet this experience was so overwhelming for me, and straight-up paralyzing.

Ever since I was in my early 20s, I grappled with the question of “where is home”? Is it a place? The streets where I grew up? Or is it a feeling? Where you are always welcomed, no matter what.

I was born and raised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an Indian passport. Since 20 years or so, the city has become well known for many superlatives – like the biggest, largest, tallest, fastest. It has most recently been in the spotlight for TV shows like the Real Housewives franchise and Dubai Bling. Many people have asked me: Is it really like that over there? Yes AND No. Yes, it’s extravagant, the beach clubs and brunches, with gold faucets and luxury cars being the norm. On the flip side, it also has a simple, hardworking people that come from all races and socio economic backgrounds – much like Toronto, which the shows do a terrible job of not showing. Growing up there, I was exposed to so many cultures, and it was the most fun, fulfilling 30-something years of my life. So why leave, and why now?

For the many things that are wonderful about Dubai (like no income tax – yet!), the downside is that the country doesn’t grant permanent residence or citizenship, even to those who were born there and have lived there their whole lives. Like my parents who moved to Dubai from India to live and work in their 20s had to leave when they retired at the age of 65. Can you imagine what that’s like? It’s not great. There’s a whole generation of “third-culture kids” from the UAE. Those of us who were born in one country, have the passport of another, and are in search of somewhere to call home.

Whenever I’m asked what brings me to Toronto, I pass it off as saying “I moved for greener pastures”, or that “I moved here to work and make a living”. But reality is I’m an immigrant, just like the 400,000 others who moved here in 2021.

And I feel so lucky to have been welcomed by all.

I’m daily in awe of the many conversations we have at Citizen about inclusion. I’m inspired by the eagerness of colleagues to understand and educate themselves on the advantages of having a certain passport, or the privileges that come with being a certain race. It’s hard to imagine why someone would pick up and leave behind their family and friends, work, everything they know and love, for a one-way ticket to the unknown. And yet here we are!

One year in, I’m happy to say that the journey has been wonderful. Not a day goes by when I’m not ooh-ing and aah-ing at the simple pleasures here that many might take for granted. Like clean air, nature, walking, and snow. Yes! Even the snow. It’s been a real joy exploring the city, building a life, and trying to find my tribe. Assimilating to the local culture (GO Raps!), learning the nuances, and sharing some of mine. Any interactions I’ve had, big or small, have been rewarding in more ways than one. And for that, I’m grateful.

If home is where the heart is, in the most literal sense, if it’s how a place makes you feel, then I feel welcomed, and blessed, and I’m so glad I’ve found a new place to call home.

We’re thrilled to be selected for The Message’s “Top Of The Year” lists for 2022 and are the only agency to be featured twice – a perfect way to wrap up this last year!

Two of our campaigns were featured in:

The Message Mighty List: Our Favourite Creative of 2022 – Cheetle in Cheadle for Cheetos

The Message Mighty List: Our Favourite Causes of 2022 – ReclaimYourName.dic for Elimin8Hate

Both these campaigns embody what Citizen stands for all while pushing the boundaries of creativity. We’re incredibly proud of this work and the teams that made it come to life. 

As seen in The Message. Click on the links below for the original articles:

The Mighty List: Our Favorite 2022 Creative

The Mighty List: Our Favorite People and Causes of 2022

The movement following the events of 2020 shone a bright light on structural racism and inequity that  systematically excluded groups experience daily. Citizen has a long track record of celebrating diversity in our communities but until 2020 we didn’t look closely at what was happening within our agency. Our equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) survey and conversations through our EDI Council and Committees indicates that we are passionate about this topic, and that we also need to do more as an agency if we are striving to create an environment where all Citizens can feel a sense of belonging.

We want every Citizen to develop, grow and shape their own legacy while moving this agency into the future. That means we need many role models at all levels of the company and leaders who are willing to step into uncomfortable conversations. Just as exclusion has been deliberately orchestrated, inclusion must also be deliberately embedded, righting wrongs and reaching those who have not been considered before. It will not happen by accident. If we aren’t actively working to create an equitable and just work environment for all then we are complicit in it being perpetuated. That is truest inside our own agency.

Our very first EDI Report is a reflection of our commitment to be transparent when communicating our EDI progress. We are addressing EDI like we would any business opportunity: analysis, listening, learning and a strategy along with metrics to track our progress. You will find more information on our strategy in the report. 

We identified a number of concrete action steps we will take, but real, lasting, structural change will take time. Our commitment to reporting our results annually is one way to keep ourselves accountable so that we continue to make meaningful progress. EDI is not separate from, or in addition to what we’re doing on the business side. It’s integrated into everything we are doing now.

This EDI Report serves as a blueprint – a guide to how we’re laying the foundation for a more equitable and better future by building an agency worthy of every Citizen here, now, and in the future.

Note: The header image was made using Open AI’s DALL-E-2 using the prompt “Create digital art of Don Draper from Mad Men meeting Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Is AI the way forward?

For the past decade, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise advertising and communications. There’s been no shortage of speculation about the jobs that might be lost, the ways AI will outperform humans, and the generally bleak Skynet-like future AI might be advancing us towards. The reality of most of what has come to market for consumers though, from Siri to customer service chatbots, has felt less like the polished 50’s version of the future imagined in the Jetson’s and more like getting stuck at a long line at the DMV run by the characters in Futurama.

Today, we are finally starting to see a fundamental shift in what AI is capable of though and the potential for how it can be integrated into marketing. In just five days, ChatGPT has reached one million users, making it the fastest-growing AI tool of all time. To put this into perspective, it took Twitter twenty-four months, Facebook ten, and Instagram three to reach the million user milestone. This rapid adoption highlights the incredible potential and interest in AI and natural language processing (NLP) and why the marketing and communications industry needs to be closely paying attention.

So what is it? 

ChatGPT is designed to generate human-like text responses in a conversation when given a prompt in natural language. It was developed by OpenAI, a leading research institute focused on creating and promoting AI and democratising access to it. It can be used for a variety of applications, including chatbots, automated customer service agents, and language translation systems. It can also be used to generate personalised responses to user input in real-time, making it a powerful tool for natural language understanding and generation.

When it comes to how this could be used by agencies, ChatGPT can assist with everything from the creation of engaging content, such as pitches, articles, and social media posts – and can draft these in natural sounding content in only seconds, to drafting research, analysis and insights on targeted audiences to help optimise campaign performance. The results aren’t always consistent, and it can take on some of these roles better than others, but even in this early beta version you can start to see the enormous potential this might have to save time and resources, allowing communications professionals to focus on more high-level tasks.

Could it displace jobs and make clients more inclined to keep work in house? Maybe, but from the experiments we have been running with it, it seems much more powerful as a tool to augment creativity and human thinking than to replace it. 

Rather than displacing agencies, ChatGPT has massive potential to increase the speed of the work agencies do, the number of clients they can work with – and open up time to focus on creativity and strategy in ways they never could before. Tedious tasks like creating multiple drafts of ad copy, editing glitches in code for an app, or summarising a document could be offloaded – while time spent coming up with creative new ways to reach an audience, developing compelling news hooks for a PR pitch or experimenting with entirely new approaches can become the norm.

Before jumping in, there are also some important issues that both clients and agencies will need to be quickly thinking about when it comes to using AI and NLP.

• The technology has leaped far ahead of any ethical framework for using it. Get ready for an arms race with agencies and clients clamouring for access to the best AI engines – think about how and when it would be legitimate to use this technology and what limitations should be placed on it. 
• Beware of skewed or inaccurate results. The potential for bias in AI algorithms is enormous – carefully evaluate the AI tools agencies use and ensure transparency in how they use them.
• Context still matters. While the facts might be technically correct, AI systems don’t always understand the context or don’t fully capture the complexity of a situation. The result could be content that damages a brand’s reputation without the right oversight.

To get ahead of these issues, it’s critical to ensure that AI systems are trained on high-quality and reliable data, and that the information they provide is properly validated and verified. Additionally,ensure users are educated about the limitations of AI technology and encourage them to critically evaluate the information it provides.

Despite these challenges, the potential of AI and NLP in the marketing and communications industry is undeniable. Tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E- 2 will make it easier and more efficient for communications professionals to create, manage, and optimise their work. Those that are able to most quickly adapt, and who can see the potential to take advantage of these technologies will thrive in the AI age.

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The article above was written by David Brodie, Global Vice President, Innovation & Growth, at global communication agency Citizen Relations, with contributions and augmentation by Open AI’s ChatGPT. Approximately 30% of the content was generated by ChatGPT, showcasing the early potential of this technology in assisting with tasks such as content creation and research analysis. This article has also been illustrated by images using Open AI’s DALL-E-2. This integration of AI and human writing showcases the potential for AI to augment human thinking and increase the efficiency of work in the communications industry.

Citizen Relations US was officially selected as one of PRWeek’s Best Places to Work 2022 [Mid-Sized Agency]. Highlighting some of the most prominent and progressive agencies in the PR industry, the Best Places to Work winners show how successful employers listen to and empower their staff, and help drive the collaboration necessary to take their workplace culture to a whole new level. PRWeek’s panel of judges recognizes Citizen for its commitment to work-life balance, recognition of employee excellence, and effective and inspirational leadership.

PRWeek’s Best Places to Work initiative, launched in 2013, invites agencies to explore what keeps employees truly invested in their work and satisfied with their workplace. Participating agencies distribute a link to our survey questionnaire to their employees. After collating the scores and narrowing down a shortlist, PRWeek convenes a panel of staff and external judges — experts in talent recruitment within the public relations sector — to pick the winners. 

“The competition for agency talent, and especially young talent, is tougher than ever as agencies and corporations compete against traditional rivals, new types of firms and each other for the most talented staffers,” said Frank Washkuch, PRWeek’s executive editor. “PRWeek’s Best Places to Work truly shows off the best of the best in terms of creativity and innovative and progressive work environments.” 

Citizen is a global communications agency built by and for the Modern Citizen. We wake up each morning inspired to make every conversation count, partnering with clients to grow their brands and positively impact culture. Across offices and disciplines, this is our single-minded mission. 

We know our name comes with a responsibility – to our fellow Citizens inside our walls and around the globe. We live by the values of the Modern Citizen; one who is courageous, builds up rather than breaks down, and puts their efforts towards conversations that count. Conversations that inform, educate, or make life easier for our fellow citizens. We champion equity. We set the standard. We do what’s right. We believe that conversation leads to action, and action leads to impact.

You can read more about PRWeek’s Best Places To Work here. 

While the value of influencer marketing is clear, many companies have struggled to build relationships with both ethnically diverse customers and ethnically diverse influencers, risking criticism for inauthentic and tokenistic displays of diversity. When we looked at the research available today on this topic, we were frustrated at the lack of data on how ethnically diverse communities connect with a brand’s marketing – there just isn’t enough data to inform how to do things differently.

We wanted to connect the dots between consumer, content creator, and brand to provide insights that lead to creating inclusivity from behind and in front of the camera. To do that, Citizen Relations established the Citizen Inclusive Influencer Index which surveyed nearly 2500 ethnically diverse consumers in 2022 and led focus groups with ethnically diverse influencers in the US and Canada. 

Our research revealed four cornerstones of creating trust-centered, authentic, inclusive influencer marketing:

• connections
• channels
• content
• commitment

The findings of this study have the potential to change how we think about inclusivity in the realm of influencer marketing, and we are eager to get to work. We hope you are too.

Global communications agency announces new identity and position, transforming its operating model to offer consumer & corporate campaign services across digital, creative and strategy.

Global communications agency, Citizen Relations, announces refreshed brand design in conjunction with the significant growth the agency has seen over the past two years. This rebrand reflects the evolution of Citizen Relations, having completely transformed its operating model to grow a team of experts who build, protect and drive reputation and results through innovative communications strategies.

“The rebrand does a wonderful job of representing both the agency we are today and the agency we want to be in the future,” says Nick Cowling, CEO. 

Under Cowling’s leadership, Citizen has seen incredible performance over the last two years, having adjusted to the realities of new ways of working with the onset of the pandemic across their eight global offices (New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, London, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City). Citizen Relations emerged from this period with over 20% growth in 2021, and projects to grow another 20+% this year. Nick Cowling says:

By focusing on our mission and living our values, we’ve been able to improve in every area of our business – our talented people, our client satisfaction and success, our work and our growth.

To maintain Citizen’s momentum there has been a number of recent promotions across the leadership team:

• Laura Bremer has been named President, U.S. With Citizen since 2010, Bremer has driven significant growth by pushing the boundaries of earned and influencer marketing. In her new role, Bremer will continue to lead with a people-centric philosophy to drive further expansion and global integration.
• David Brodie has been named Global Vice President,  Innovation and Growth. Brodie has led award-winning campaigns with Citizen Relations for the past 17 years and is now responsible for the development of new and enhanced service offerings in addition to new business development worldwide.
• Jenn Duggan has been named the President, Ontario and West at Citizen. With Citizen since 2018, Duggan has led multiple award-winning programs and will now oversee the offices in Toronto and Vancouver, building on the exceptional regional expertise and fueling strong national collaboration.
• Erin Georgieff has been named Managing Partner, U.S. Growth & West Coast Operations. Georgieff has been with Citizen for over 20 years, leading the strategy for some of the agency’s leading brand partners. Georgieff will oversee day-to-day operations of the West Coast offices with a focus on US growth.
• Sue Jackman joins Citizen Relations as the Senior Vice President of Marketing, leading the brand marketing and communications for Citizen Relations globally. She joins Citizen from Intact Financial where she served as the Director of Marketing and Communications.
• Heidi Mamer has been named Senior Vice President, Global Operations. Over the past 6 years, Mamer has been a key consultant for clients and internal teams across the spectrum of the integrated marketing mix and will now focus on streamlining global business operations across offices and centralized teams for continued growth.

Citizen’s new identity reflects the agency’s global mission to make every conversation count, anchored in the values of the ‘modern citizen’ – to champion equity, set the standard and do what’s right.