Unlike disruptors who are known for creating confusion and disorder, the intent of disruptor companies is framed around their ability to totally change an industry with innovation. They also happen to be the target market of Highwire PR, whose roots not surprisingly originated in Silicon Valley. Highwire offers fresh, innovative thinking to keep pace with a changing society. One of their disruptor clients is tech startup Bluevine, which it identified in its “Fintech Predictions for 2020” report as one of two companies currently shaping the future of financial technology.
Roots
Since its founding in 2008 by Emily Borders and Kathleen Gratehouse, the leading high-tech PR firm has not taken its foot off the accelerator. It now has branches in New York, Chicago and Boston, including a digital lab in New York. In January 2018, it acquired Inner Circle Labs, a California PR firm, and digital consultancy company Wonderscript in April 2020.
Borders is a former magazine journalist who went on to work as a technical writer and marketing lead for an architectural and engineering firm. She then moved to a major role in ecommerce and mobility with a national agency. Like Borders, Gratehouse too is a former journalist. She was a producer at CNN and worked under Judy Woodruff, whom she credits as a mentor who showed her the value of preparation, which she indulges in to this day.
Specialties
Highwire believes its success rests in hiring the right people for its different areas of specialization. It specializes in powerfully positioning its clients’ messaging with the right people with whom they’ve cultivated relationships over the years. Another area of specialization includes global account management. In collaboration with Brands2Life Global Network, they’re able to successfully connect globally.
Communicating the right message at the right time is particularly important in today’s era of news dissemination. Highwire’s team of former journalists arms clients with the skills and confidence to speak articulately, clearly and effectively to the media. Similarly, in today’s rapid-paced society, the firm’s team helps clients minimize potential damage by identifying and preparing for worst-case scenarios.
Because many of Highwire’s clients are in health-related areas, the firm also has a team of experts who have the experience to tell the right story to the right audience, the right way and at the right time. This has been particularly valuable during the pandemic. The firm has published several COVID-19-related blogs during the pandemic.
After defining themes that resonate with clients’ target audiences, their digital studio allows Highwire to integrate communications programs founded on strategic storytelling to achieve maximum results.
Clients
The firm’s clients range from Fortune 100 companies, like GE and IBM, to start-ups. No matter their size, each receives the same amount of care and attention. Other known brands include Allstate, Udemy, Norwest and Twilio.
Agencies they compete with include 5W, Shift Communications and MWWPR.
