This year, Factory PR put an emphasis on expanding its service offerings to incorporate multiple industries and cultural zeitgeists. Outcomes include expanded social media storytelling capabilities and an official talent division supporting influencers and celebrities alike across career development, branding, PR and networking. The past 12 months have seen an influx of tech and innovation clients including metaverse, crypto and NFT-based brands. The Factory team was actually behind the Miami Bull, where they throned Miami as the crypto capital of the world with a statue unveiling in partnership with TradeStation during Bitcoin Conference 2022. The year’s many successes have everything to do with the learning environment Factory fosters for their team, as evidenced by this year’s launch of a monthly Factory ‘Masterclass,’ or sessions where employees can vote on which category they’re most interested in learning about; the agency designates a time to (virtually) attend the Masterclass seminar together.
Leadership team:
Mark Silver, Co-Founder & CEO
Rose Swarbrick, Managing Partner
Notable long-term clients:
ASOS, Henry Rose, IKEA, KORA Organics, Luxottica, Rebag
New client wins:
FTX, REPREVE, Stereo, For Days, Dr. Naomi Skincare, and a pre-launch stealth beauty brand
How is the agency advancing DEI in the industry?
“In 2020 we made a public declaration of our commitment to equality, diversity and to being an anti-racism workplace. A consultant ran an anonymous survey of current and former employees to get real feedback on our culture and track record of inclusivity. The survey findings informed our mission points as we work to continually be better. Factory organizes a donation match program for contributions to causes, such as the Lebanon Disaster and Kids Need More. We support the NY Food Bank, Trevor Project, NAACP and ACLU on an annual basis. In addition, our employee-led D&I Committee created a BIPOC vendor database to ensure we are supporting Black-owned businesses and hold regular sessions with experts who educate our staff. We have also made it a priority to grow our DEI initiatives and those of our clients. We’re proud to be queer-owned, female-led, with staff identifying from all backgrounds - from parents to BIPOC and AAPI to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, totaling about 35-plus interns.”
When it comes to launching brands from zero to cult-favorite status, Derris is the authority. Innovative clients including Warby Parker, Glossier, Good American, SKIMS, Supergoop! and more are a testament to this, as is BerlinRosen’s recent majority investment in the agency. The agency has announced expanded offerings to help bring brands they believe in to life; now clients can work with their Creative & Content, Influencer Marketing and Experiential & Events divisions through In Person, a joint venture with the hospitality leaders at the thank you organization, that focuses on creating temporary and permanent retail experiences. In addition to building diversity within the Derris team, agency leaders keep a pulse on representation within their client roster. Currently, 43 percent of their clients have BIPOC representation amongst their founders or C-Level leadership. They also launched Project Mercury, a joint venture between Derris and Mythology aiming to bring new perspectives and ideas to the world of start-ups and innovation. The goal is to ensure there are more Black voices in the founder community, more Black ideas championed and more Black-owned concepts realized.
Leadership team:
Jesse Derris, Founder
Lisa Frank, Partner
Notable long-term clients:
Warby Parker, Everlane, Reformation, Glossier, Harry’s, Good American, Shopbop, Supergoop!
New client wins:
abc carpet & home, Alaska Airlines, Bombas Hodinkee, KEEN, SKIMS
How are you innovating and moving the industry forward?
“We think strategically, not tactically, developing and executing creative and unexpected ideas for our clients that place them at the forefront of the zeitgeist. The Derris-client relationship is a true partnership. Our best work starts at the idea phase, where we act as thought partners on how brands activate, helping build campaigns and initiatives. We’re channel and platform agnostic, and believe our role is to help our brands tell smart and strategic stories in order to reach the right audiences and build brand affinity whether that be in business, trade or consumer press, on a brand’s owned channels, or through shared content (influencers). We apply this framework to any category, both with established later-stage companies and disruptors in emerging spaces (Web3).”
