Originally published December 2020. Updated June 15, 2026.
Part of PR Agency Q&A Profiles · See also: Rick French, French/West/Vaughan · Steve Cody, Peppercomm
Jennifer Risi is the founder and president of The Sway Effect, a network of independent marketing and communications agencies launched in the summer of 2019. Before founding Sway, Risi served as Worldwide Chief Communications Officer at Ogilvy. The Sway Effect operates with a network model that gives clients access to specialist boutiques across the U.S., Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe, with diversity, equity, and inclusion as a structural part of its operating model.
The Interview
The Sway Effect is a network of independent marketing and communications agencies. At the heart of its work, The Sway Effect is focused on "swaying" opinion and influencing outcomes on behalf of clients while putting diversity, equity and inclusion at the center of everything. The Sway Effect partners with clients across industries from healthcare and technology to nonprofits and retail.
Q: How did you get started in PR?
A: As a student at Barnard College at Columbia University, I set out to be a psychology major. I thought that I would be a therapist since I like people and I felt like I had an understanding of people's emotional makeup. But one fateful day, I got a call to interview with a very large, global PR agency. Not only did I not know who the agency was, but I didn't have the slightest idea of what a career in communications entailed. I took the chance and got a job as an account coordinator. Within a few short months, I was hooked.
Q: How did you move up from your first role in PR to Ogilvy's Worldwide Chief Communications Officer to your role now?
A: Most of my career was spent moving up the ranks at large multinational agencies. I was curious, collaborative, humble, authentic, and I worked hard. But sometimes, working hard in the PR industry is not enough to move you ahead. I found early on that two things were helping my success. First, I had sponsors — the people that say nice things about you when you are not in the room. Second, I made sure to advocate for myself.
By doing this, I moved up the ranks. The work was fun and challenging at these agencies. But at a certain point I had an urge to create a company aligned to my vision of putting diversity and inclusion into action. I wanted to create an agency that brands were excited to partner with. I wanted to shake up the PR industry with a new way of working. Out of this The Sway Effect was born.
Q: How did you set to differentiate The Sway Effect from other PR agencies?
A: Reflecting feedback gathered from clients, peers and next generation talent, I set out to create a new agency model. The Sway Effect was founded as a network of independent marketing and communications agencies that gives brands access to the best and brightest talent anywhere in the industry and enables that talent to become an extension of a brand's in-house team. With The Sway Effect, the cost, process, and hassle from working with a traditional agency is gone, and all that is left is great work.
Q: You started in summer 2019 and a few months later the COVID-19 pandemic hit. How has The Sway Effect fared?
A: From my point of view, I've never seen our team come together as we have during this time. We are coming up with creative ways to get the job done, and the team has never been more dedicated. Clients want access to talent to serve as extensions of their teams without the cost and added bureaucracy. Agencies today need to be agile, adaptable, and always one step ahead. This new business landscape has created an opportunity for The Sway Effect to thrive.
Q: How is The Sway Effect's network different from holding-company networks?
A: Our network of agencies and leaders spans across the U.S., the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. We are breaking down barriers by creating an environment that brings subject matter experts together to execute broad-reaching campaigns on behalf of brands across channels, across industries, and from anywhere in the world. Most clients don't have the patience or time to deal with the layers of processes that come from working with big agencies.
Q: Who are the agencies in your network?
A: At launch, our founding partners were bSMART, GoDo Discovery Co., Good Scout, Markson IdeaCraft, Reilly Partners and Rogue Sunday. From there, we expanded our expertise and grew our international footprint, adding new partners including 357 Communications, Agean PR, Bonin Ventures, Cheryl Overton Communications, DLC Group, and partners in Latin America including Founders and Ontologie.
Q: How does your agency work through the consolidating media industry and "pay for play" pressures?
A: In essence, we are a high-level communications shop, providing top-to-top strategic counsel to CEOs and Heads of State the world over. We specialize in "UBER media" — the media other media listen to. We have the unique ability to serve as the bridge between what clients want to say and what the media wants to cover. We are a full-service network: PR and influence, brand marketing, creative, social impact, research and measurement, and DEI programming. We recently expanded to include a data and analytics offering via machine learning and digital communications.
