Agency elite top 100

Identity Named to PRNews 2024 Agency Elite Top 100


By: Andrea Trapani

PRNews has selected Identity as part of its 2024 Agency Elite Top 100, a prestigious list of the most innovative public relations, marketing and communications firms in our industry.

We have built a reputation on envisioning big, bold concepts and bringing them to life through planning and great work. When we set out to establish our Identity 2025 vision a few years ago, we rallied our team behind the idea of being recognized as a visionary PR agency, known for our strategy and media prowess, from a team who can deliver outstanding award-winning programs. 

While we are still focused on achieving our big Identity 2025 goals for the next year-plus, we are exceptionally proud to be included on this selective list of leading national agencies from across the country for our supercharged growth, our engaging gamelover culture, and our future focus to adapt and lead in the fast and ever-changing PR and media landscape. 

Creating a Winning Culture

We’ve said it time and time again: This team is the best and most talented team we’ve ever had in our 25 years.

Building a powerhouse and leading culture is never-ending, and we are always on a quest to do more and be better than the day before. We have embraced the idea of being “one of one”—to stand alone for our unmatched expertise and client service, leading to unprecedented successes and new and exciting opportunities. Our gamelovers truly love the game of PR and the industry’s unique opportunities and challenges. During our most recent biannual, held mid-January in downtown Detroit, we even drew parallels between the Detroit Lions’ inspiring journey and our own, recognizing the hard work, dedication and discipline needed to continue to win.

Biannuals are just one example of our intentional and focused in-person meeting time, which has evolved in recent years as we embrace a remote-first and flexible work environment. In 2023, we added Gamelover Supercharged retreats to our calendar—a decision PRNews called out as part of our 2024 Agency Elite Top 100 profile. Each Gamelover Supercharged event is paired with community service or another experiential, memory-making activity to provide additional touchpoints for our team to connect. 

We make every minute we spend together as a team and with our clients count, and that focus on connection and collaboration is an undeniable differentiator in the fabric of our culture.

Developing Talent for the Future

Being on a quest for excellence means we never quit looking ahead and learning.

We create opportunities for our team to feed their passions, develop their professional identities and deliver great work each and every day. Our leadership team has committed to the necessary education and training to ensure our people are in the right seats for their skill sets, and to keep them on a path of evolution and growth.

To supercharge our talent pipeline, we introduced an immersive Apprenticeship Program in 2023, meant to drive new, top-tier talent to the agency. This six-month agency experience for post-graduate professionals provides a structured deep dive into agency life, with apprentices supporting all disciplines based on talent, team needs and metrics. Each individual is paired with a non-reporting mentor to guide them through the experience, and those who perform will earn a permanent position with the agency, leading to five full-time hires in 2023. 

This program was another highlight for our 2024 Agency Elite Top 100 recognition, and as we look to expand our team to keep pace with our growing portfolio, we know this is a formula that works and sets the right tone for young professionals.

Embracing Emerging Technology

We have never shied away from investing in emerging technology, from being an early adopter of social media to investing in a suite of industry tools that make measurement, research and insight capture possible.

In the past year, Identity has fully embraced the need to align social offerings with platform and algorithm changes through TikTok and Instagram Reels programming. As part of our social video strategy for clients, we shared and established social media guidelines with client team members and inspired them to work alongside us to create fresh and engaging content.

Even more critically, we began necessary discussions about the use of artificial intelligence, which continues to be a constant topic within our industry. We created an in-house task force to evaluate the landscape and establish our agency philosophy concerning the adoption of generative AI to guide our recommendations to clients and ensure responsible use of AI agencywide. Through that task force, we provide credible expertise and educational resources to foster intelligent exploration while still prioritizing and celebrating original work.

Identity’s recognition on the 2024 Agency Elite Top 100 list is nothing short of rewarding. It serves as a reminder that our investments in our people and processes are leading to shared successes. As we look to Identity 2025 and beyond, we’re thrilled to be on this national list of industry leaders. But more importantly, we’re ready to continue building on the moments that led us to this exciting time with bigger, bolder programs and creative, impactful work.