What Hill & Knowlton does

Hill & Knowlton is a global public relations and public affairs firm, with its Canadian operation headquartered in Toronto and operating as a subsidiary of WPP plc, one of the world's largest communications services groups. The Canadian business runs from eight offices spanning Toronto, Montréal, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Québec City, Regina, and Vancouver, providing national bilingual coverage including two French-language-first offices. It employs between 1,001 and 5,000 people globally and more than 50 public affairs professionals in Canada, with a leadership team headed by President and CEO Sheila Wisniewski.

H&K Canada's service portfolio spans seven interconnected practice areas: Corporate Communications & Advisory, Public Affairs & Advocacy, Consumer Marketing, Public Participation (P2), Issues & Crisis, Data & Analytics, and Creative Services (Innovation & Creativity, delivered through 'The Studio'). The firm monetizes these offerings through project-based consulting, retainers, and customized enterprise engagements; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Its client base is enterprise-heavy, including Royal LePage, L'Oréal Canada (via WPP's Onefluence), Interac, Boehringer Ingelheim, JennAir, LOTTO MAX, and the Alberta Museum Association, with government and public sector clients served through public affairs, public participation, and procurement-support engagements.

Go-to-market is a B2B sales-led enterprise model with senior leadership engagement. The firm emphasizes an 'activist' public affairs approach staffed by professionals with prior government and political office experience, an IAP2-grounded public participation methodology, and a joined-up analytics-plus-creative operating model. In 2023, H&K Canada was named Provoke Media's Canadian Agency of the Year, the firm's flagship third-party recognition in the Canadian market.

Name

Hill & Knowlton

Legal name

Hill & Knowlton

Website

https://hkstrategies.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Hill & Knowlton Canada is a public relations and public affairs firm and WPP subsidiary that provides corporate communications, public affairs, consumer marketing, public participation, crisis management, analytics, and creative services to enterprises, governments, and institutions from 8 offices nationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Communications Services: H&K generates revenue through professional communications and advisory services, including corporate communications, public affairs, crisis management, consumer marketing, and creative services. Revenue is derived from consulting fees, project-based work, and retainer arrangements with enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hill & Knowlton is a global public relations and public affairs firm that provides strategic communications and advisory services to enterprise, government, and consumer brand clients. The firm offers seven primary service lines: Corporate Communications & Advisory, Public Affairs & Advocacy, Consumer Marketing, Public Participation (P2), Issues & Crisis, Data & Analytics, and Creative Services. Services are delivered through retained engagements, project-based work, and consulting mandates by professional staff across eight Canadian offices.

Product overview

Hill & Knowlton is a global communications and public relations firm offering a portfolio of service offerings rather than a unified software product or platform. The company's service suite includes Corporate Communications & Advisory, Public Affairs & Advocacy, Consumer Marketing, Public Participation (P2), Issues & Crisis management, Data & Analytics, and Creative Services (Innovation & Creativity). These offerings operate as distinct but interconnected service lines within the firm, with a joined-up approach that combines data analytics with creative and strategic communications expertise to address complex client challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Communications & Advisory Strategic communications service focused on building and maintaining corporate reputation through thought leadership, earned media, ESG communications, and stakeholder trust-building for investors, customers, employees, consumers, and partners.
• Public Affairs & Advocacy Strategic engagement with government and public discourse for corporations, disruptive economy participants, and trade associations, delivered by professionals with direct experience inside governments and political offices. Includes a procurement offering focused on technology, healthcare, transportation, and defense equipment.
• Consumer Marketing Consumer-focused marketing service creating conversations, content, and campaigns that build brand recognition and drive consumer engagement, leveraging multi-channel distribution and audience insight.
• Public Participation (P2) Award-winning public engagement service designing and implementing best-in-class consultation processes on challenging projects and policy issues, with methodology grounded in International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) core principles.
• Issues & Crisis Crisis preparation, protection, and response service including meticulous preparation, bespoke training, and reputation defense for global brands, multinationals, public sector organizations, and small independents facing reputational threats.
• Data & Analytics (D&A) Analytics, research, and measurement service that grounds creative communications work in data and insights, providing audience understanding, white space identification, and impact measurement across the H+K network.
• Creative Services (Innovation & Creativity) Creative strategy, content and publishing strategy, digital planning and optimization, and creative direction delivered through The Studio, combining content strategists, creative directors, film directors, and data analysts in integrated hubs.

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WPPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPP is H&K's parent company. WPP's Onefluence unit was selected by L'Oréal Canada for influencer marketing mandate, with H&K supporting this engagement. H&K operates under WPP's sustainability and corporate governance frameworks including Modern Slavery Policy.
• International Association of Public Participation (IAP2)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerH&K's public participation methodology is grounded in IAP2 core principles, focused on informed, respectful and effective public engagement. This affiliation provides methodological framework credibility for their P2 practice.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy: Fellow WPP agency offering advertising, PR, and brand communications; overlaps with H&K's creative and consumer marketing work as part of a broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• FleishmanHillard: Global PR and public affairs firm (Omnicom) with strong government relations and crisis practices, closely mirroring H&K's offering and enterprise/public-sector clientele.
• APCO Worldwide: Independent public affairs and strategic communications consultancy emphasizing government relations and issues management, directly comparable to H&K's activist public affairs practice.
• Weber Shandwick: Global integrated communications agency (part of IPG) spanning corporate reputation, consumer marketing, and public affairs, competing head-to-head with H&K for multinational mandates.
• Ketchum: Global PR agency (Omnicom) offering corporate reputation, consumer marketing, and crisis communications, competing directly with H&K's integrated service suite.
• Burson: WPP's flagship PR agency (formed from BCW and Hill & Knowlton), providing corporate comms, public affairs, and crisis services to the same client base as H&K within the same parent network.
• Golin: Global PR agency (IPG) focused on brand, corporate, and consumer communications, overlapping H&K's consumer marketing and reputation offerings.
• Edelman: The world's largest PR firm offering corporate communications, public affairs, and crisis management to enterprise and government clients, directly overlapping H&K's core service lines and buyer base.

Regional players

• NATIONAL Public Relations: Canada's largest homegrown PR and public affairs firm with national bilingual offices, competing directly with H&K in the same Canadian market and client segments.
• Navigator Ltd. Canadian strategic communications and public affairs consultancy specializing in crisis and government relations, a direct competitor to H&K within Canada.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hk_canada
• Facebookfacebook.com/HKCanada
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hillandknowlton
• Instagraminstagram.com/hillandknowlton

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hill & Knowlton