Rethink’s work is known for having penetrated the cultural zeitgeist. The agency has embraced being at the intersection of earned media, social and content development. It’s now a forte. A couple of years ago, anticipating this trend, the agency brought in PR lead Meredith Montgomery (who previously worked at comms firms like Ketchum and Hill & Knowlton) to establish and manage its “brand narrative” work.

“We’ve got an exceedingly strong internal editorial and production group with a disposition towards earned media,” Global CSO and Partner, Sean McDonald explains. This ensures that Rethink is telling consistent stories against the brand strategy. It works with clients like A&W, Tangerine and others to tell their story through content, media relations and social in an ongoing day-to-day fashion

When its comes to investments in capabilities, emerging technology isn’t an obsession. “Everybody wants to talk about AI and digital and tech, but one of our biggest developments is our Rethinker experience group. This group looks at the training and the support that Rethinkers are getting,” McDonald says.

Rethink has turned inward and made improvements with regards to how it inspires its talent, bringing in external speakers to help amplify their thinking and programs that offer employee support. AI isn’t replacing human creativity, the agency’s CCO believes. “AI can create an adequate rip-o-matic, it can do average work. It’s using existing ads to do that. And it’s important that an agency is not just doing adequate work or work that is familiar. We’re striving to be not just adequate, but exceptional.”