Golin

What Golin does

Golin (operating as Golin Ketchum since June 2026) is a global public relations agency that delivers earned-first communications services to enterprise consumer, corporate, healthcare, food/agriculture/nutrition, and technology clients. Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Chicago with major offices in San Francisco, New York, and London, the agency was historically part of Interpublic Group before becoming a unit of Omnicom Public Relations Group following Omnicom's $13 billion acquisition of IPG in November 2024. In 2025-2026, Omnicom merged Golin with Ketchum to form the combined Golin Ketchum entity led by CEO Matt Neale, positioning it within a broader Omnicom PR portfolio alongside FleishmanHillard and Porter Novelli.

The agency's service offering spans five practice areas — Brand & Consumer, Corporate Affairs, Food/Ag/Nutrition, Health, and Technology — delivered through annual retainer-based agency-of-record engagements with named enterprise clients including Nissin Foods USA, Ferrero North America, Specsavers, BetterHelp, Save the Children, and AstraZeneca. Golin's technology layer is largely platform-mediated: Cyabra's AI-powered disinformation detection is integrated for brand reputation protection, while parent Omnicom provides generative AI tooling (New Omni), generative engine optimization (First Answer), crisis workflow automation (FH Fusion), and access to Acxiom's 2.6 billion-profile identity graph for audience targeting. The agency markets itself as 'the most awarded PR agency of the decade,' with recent recognition including Cannes Lions PR Lions Gold (Specsavers 'The Relationship Aid'), PRWeek Agency of the Year, AMEC Team of the Year, Provoke Media Agency of the Year, Fast Company Innovative Company, and a Diamond SABRE Award for AstraZeneca pharmaceutical work.

Golin operates as a B2B professional services firm targeting enterprise clients through direct engagement and senior-led business development. Revenue is generated through custom-quoted, scope-based retainer contracts with annual billing cadence; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The agency has no venture or private equity ownership, sitting wholly within Omnicom Group's publicly traded conglomerate structure (NYSE: OMC). Prior M&A activity includes the 2016 acquisition of The Brooklyn Brothers, the 2018 acquisition of Hurrah Productions, and the 2011 acquisition of FUSE, indicating a long-running inorganic capability-building strategy now superseded by the larger Omnicom-driven consolidation.

Name

Golin

Legal name

Golin Ketchum

Website

https://golin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Golin Ketchum is a global earned-first public relations agency serving enterprise consumer, corporate, healthcare, food, and technology clients through retainer-based agency-of-record engagements. It operates within Omnicom Public Relations Group following the 2026 merger of Golin and Ketchum.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PR Agency Services: Golin generates revenue through retainer-based public relations engagements with enterprise clients, including strategic communications, earned media, crisis management, and cultural campaign development services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Golin Ketchum is a global public relations agency that delivers earned-first communications services to enterprise clients across five practice areas: Brand & Consumer, Corporate Affairs, Food, Ag & Nutrition, Health, and Technology. Its work spans strategic communications, earned media placement, crisis management, cultural and creative campaigns, corporate reputation, and brand protection—including AI-driven disinformation detection via Cyabra. The agency maintains agency-of-record (AOR) relationships with major consumer brands such as Nissin Foods USA, Ferrero North America, BetterHelp, Save the Children, and Specsavers.

Product overview

Golin operates as a global public relations agency that has merged with Ketchum to form Golin Ketchum under Omnicom's portfolio. The agency's service offering spans five core practice areas: Brand & Consumer (helping consumer brands build fame through cultural insight and bold creativity), Corporate Affairs, Food, Ag & Nutrition, Health, and Technology. The combined Golin Ketchum entity positions itself as an earned-first industry leader, creating change that earns attention and shapes culture to build business for clients. Notable client work includes campaigns such as Specsavers' 'The Relationship Aid,' BetterHelp's 'Day 734,' and Save the Children's 'I Won't Play.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Golin Ketchum PR Agency Services Combined global public relations agency offering integrated strategic communications, earned media, crisis management, brand fame and cultural campaign work across five verticalized practice areas: Brand & Consumer, Corporate Affairs, Food, Ag & Nutrition, Health, and Technology. Targeted at enterprise clients seeking agency-of-record engagements.
• Brand & Consumer PR Practice Practice area dedicated to helping consumer brands build brand fame through cultural insight and bold creativity, using earned-first strategies that defy category norms and engage target audiences (including Gen Z and millennials) for product launches and brand campaigns.
• Corporate Affairs PR Practice Practice area delivering corporate communications, reputation management, and stakeholder-relations services for corporate clients needing strategic handling of public affairs and corporate narrative.
• Food, Ag & Nutrition PR Practice Practice area providing food, agriculture, and nutrition-industry PR and consumer health messaging for food-and-beverage clients with consumer-facing brands, including consumer-survey-led cultural positioning (e.g., Ferrero's "Adultoween").
• Health PR Practice Practice area delivering healthcare communications, pharmaceutical PR, and wellness branding for healthcare and pharmaceutical clients requiring specialized health communications.
• Technology PR Practice Practice area delivering tech brand positioning, B2B tech PR, and developer relations for technology-sector clients ranging from consumer tech to enterprise software.

Quantifiable outcome

• PR Lions Gold award for Specsavers 'The Relationship Aid' campaign
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Ferrero North AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Ferrero North America partnered with Golin and Dynata to conduct consumer survey research on Easter candy trends, releasing findings that 66% of North American adults believe they deserve an Easter basket. The partnership supports Ferrero's positioning of 'Adultoween' cultural movement expanding to Easter.
• Nissin Foods USAflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 September 2025Nissin Foods USA appointed Golin PR as its agency of record (AOR) to enhance media relations targeting Gen Z and millennial audiences for its Top Ramen and Cup Noodles products. This represents a significant AOR relationship for the agency.
• Omnicom Public Relations GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2025Following Omnicom's acquisition of Interpublic Group in late 2025, Golin was merged with Ketchum into a combined agency entity under Omnicom Public Relations Group. Matt Neale, former Golin CEO, leads the new Golin Ketchum entity. The restructuring integrates AI tools including FH Fusion and First Answer across the portfolio.
• CyabracoreTechnology or Integration · 11 February 2025Golin has integrated Cyabra's AI-powered platform into its operations to combat misinformation and fake narratives online. This partnership enables early detection and response to disinformation threats against client brand reputations. Jonny Bentwood of Golin explains how Cyabra helps clients protect their online reputation by identifying fake narratives and disinformation on social media.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Edelman: Largest independent global PR firm with comparable enterprise client mix (consumer, health, tech). Edelman is the primary direct competitor to Golin Ketchum on global AOR RFPs and operates similar earned-first practices across brand, health, and corporate communications.
• Weber Shandwick: Major global PR agency also brought under Omnicom via the IPG acquisition, making it a direct sibling competitor. Competes head-to-head with Golin Ketchum on enterprise consumer-brand and corporate-affairs AOR engagements.
• FleishmanHillard: Omnicom-owned global PR firm into which Porter Novelli was consolidated; a direct Omnicom-PR portfolio peer competing on similar enterprise health, corporate-affairs, and brand PR mandates.
• Burson (Burson Cohn & Wolfe): Major global PR agency formed by the merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe under WPP; comparable in scale, enterprise client mix, and service lines including corporate affairs, health, and consumer marketing.
• MSL (Publicis Groupe): Publicis-owned global PR and communications network with similar consumer, healthcare, and corporate-affairs practices; competes for the same enterprise AOR RFPs as Golin Ketchum.
• Hill & Knowlton: Long-established global PR firm (under WPP via H/Advisors) with comparable corporate-affairs, crisis, and public-affairs offerings; frequently co-pitches against Golin Ketchum for enterprise mandates.
• Ogilvy PR: WPP-owned global PR and influence practice within Ogilvy's broader advertising network; comparable on integrated earned/paid creative campaigns for consumer brands.
• Havas PR: Havas-owned global PR network offering brand PR, corporate communications, and health communications to enterprise clients across consumer and B2B verticals.
• Zeno Group: Global communications agency with strong consumer, health, and technology practices; competes with Golin Ketchum on enterprise consumer-brand PR mandates and integrated earned-media work.

Broad incumbents

• Omnicom Group (parent): Publicly traded parent (NYSE: OMC) of Golin Ketchum and the broader Omnicom Public Relations Group; a broad incumbent advertising/communications holding company providing context for parent-level capital allocation, pricing, and portfolio strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GOLINglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/golin
• Instagraminstagram.com/ketchumpr
• Xx.com/GOLINglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Golin