The marcomms industry’s shift towards collaboration has gone beyond brand partnerships and VIP placements to a newer model of agency work: the affiliate agency. While sister companies have long existed, the affiliate agency model allows smaller ones the financial and operational support from a bigger firm, while the latter benefits from the hands-on team’s day-to-day focus on brand building and storytelling. We asked Lauren Knudsen, president of 20Two Studio, to break down what an affiliate agency is and how it can benefit both PR agencies and clients.
Miraval Austin
What defines an affiliate agency? What areas can an affiliate agency help PR agencies with?
20Two Studio is a creative storytelling PR, social and influencer agency built by some of the industry’s most creative storytellers, launched and powered behind the scenes by global powerhouse J/PR. What that means is The Studio’s account team members - from New York to Nashville to SoCal - focus on delivering ROI-driven creative campaigns for clients, completely separate from the J/PR team and clients. On the backend, we’re able to capitalize on J/PR’s operational efficiencies, sharing finance, operations, HR and tech teams so the accounts teams can do what they do best. 20Two Studio delivers the high touch, brand building and bottom-line driven tactics for hospitality brands that have a relationship already with The Studio team or cannot join the J/PR client roster whether because of conflicts or budgets.
What does a partnership with an affiliate agency look like?
For over 15 years, I’ve been working with J/PR Partners Jamie O’Grady and Sarah Evans and the Executive team to build this entrepreneurial minded agency into the reputable brand it has become. As we looked to evolve the business and to find new and exciting growth paths, we saw a business opportunity to deliver on the promises and passions of J/PR in a new way, and 20Two Studio was created.
Conrad Maldives
The ethos of The Studio is inspired by the number 22, which is considered to be a master number focused on accomplishment at the highest level. The number carries the energy of duality which is demonstrated through The Studio’s dedication to creative thinking and ROI-driven approach. As the PR and social landscape evolves at an incredible pace, we’re testing new approaches layered into the tried and true impactful strategies our hospitality clients expect.
Please share a case study illustrating how your affiliate agency has supercharged client growth, delivered results and bolstered awareness since inception.
We develop thoughtful campaigns to support client need periods and revenue goals. In our first few months working together, The Studio team needed to deliver on summer season while also ensuring Red Jacket Beach Resort in Cape Cod was positioned as a prime ‘Shoulder Season’ destination during the area’s slower visitor months. In doing so, a TODAY Show segment covering end of summer travel deals was secured, highlighting the property’s low rates, private beach access and family-friendly amenities, and showcasing the stunning b-roll that had just been invested in (a must!). The broadcast coverage resulted in $104,000 in reservations booked in the first 5 hours after airing, nearly 3 times above the daily booking average, and reached a total of 2.1M+ national viewers.
Red Jacket Green Harbor Resort
The Studio team hits the ground running. In our first 60 days of partnership with Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix, 20Two Studio achieved 20 pieces of coverage spotlighting holiday programming and the forthcoming opening of its brand new rooftop, Eden. Simultaneously, we developed a comprehensive media relations strategy to maximize coverage opportunities for Eden, inclusive of securing multiple exclusives and onsite media and influencer experiences.
