Tom Coyne is the CEO of Coyne PR, founded in 1991 and one of the top independent public relations firms in the United States. The firm employs 150+ professionals with offices in New York and New Jersey and reach into 115 cities, 49 countries, and six continents through partnership with The Worldcom Public Relations Group. Coyne PR has won more than 1,000 industry awards, including Midsize Agency of the Year, Consumer Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year, North American Creative Agency of the Year, and 2021 Best Agency to Work For.
The Interview
Q: Tell us a little bit about your company.
A: Founded in 1991, Coyne PR has grown to become one of the top independent public relations firms in the United States. More than 150 talented minds call Coyne PR home. We have offices in New York and New Jersey and colleagues in 115 cities, 49 countries, and six continents through our partnership with The Worldcom Public Relations Group. Our approach has grown over three decades and is distinguished by more than 1,000 industry awards.
Q: Services you provide?
A: Integrated communications solutions across public relations, social media, digital marketing, and advertising. Senior industry experts lead our practices with years of experience across business categories.
Q: Your agency's philosophy and mission?
A: "Our mission is not to be the best agency in America, but the best one to work for. If we are the best place to work, we will get the best people. If we have the best people, we will get the best clients. If we have the best people and clients, how can we not be the best agency in America?"
Traditional philosophy dictates that the best employees seek out agencies with the best clients. Coyne PR's philosophy is counterculture — attract the best people, then the best clients will seek us out. We believe it is harder to find good people than good business, so we hire good people regardless of account or agency needs.
Q: Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
A: While the diversity of our employee base currently exceeds industry averages, we continue to strive to create an inclusive and welcoming culture. Our DE&I Council was created with the objective of fostering innovative actions that create and support a strong DE&I workplace. Employees set the agenda and spearhead initiatives.
Q: How did Coyne PR overcome the pandemic?
A: Senior leadership made it their promise not to lay off or furlough a single employee. Salaries and medical benefits remained intact. Team members contributed unique talents — weekly virtual cooking demonstrations, storytelling sessions, guided meditation, nutrition bootcamps, Peloton crews, and a weekly newsletter-turned-virtual-talk-show highlighting how the agency pivoted to create successful events and campaigns during COVID-19.
Q: How did you shift PR efforts to the virtual world?
A: We took our entire company and clients' communication to the virtual world. Events, deskside meetings, premieres, releases, celebrations, product launches, and sampling opportunities all changed to accommodate quarantine. The agency has helped clients revise communications plans, develop proactive initiatives, build full-scale launch campaigns, and bounce-back strategies.
Q: Impact on how you view work moving forward?
A: We discovered our unique culture is not in the walls of our offices but the hearts and minds of our 150-person team. We look forward to evolving our best-in-class hybrid work approach called "Work Your Way," which is not written in pen, but always in pencil — to leave room for improvements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tom Coyne is the CEO of Coyne PR , founded in 1991 and one of the top independent public relations firms in the United States. The firm employs 150+ professionals with offices in New York and New Jersey and reach into 115 cities, 49 countries, and six continents through partnership with The Worldcom Public Relations Group. Coyne PR has won more than 1,000 industry awards , including Midsize Agency of the Year, Consumer Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year, North American Creative Agency of the Year, and 2021 Best Agency to Work For. The Interview Q: Tell us a little bit about your company. A: Founded in 1991, Coyne PR has grown to become one of the top independent public relations firms in the United States. More than 150 talented minds call Coyne PR home. We have offices in New York and New Jersey and colleagues in 115 cities, 49 countries, and six continents through our partnership with The Worldcom Public Relations Group. Our approach has grown over three decades and is distinguished by more than 1,000 industry awards. Q: Services you provide?
A: Integrated communications solutions across public relations, social media, digital marketing, and advertising. Senior industry experts lead our practices with years of experience across business categories.
Q: Your agency's philosophy and mission?
A: "Our mission is not to be the best agency in America, but the best one to work for. If we are the best place to work, we will get the best people. If we have the best people, we will get the best clients. If we have the best people and clients, how can we not be the best agency in America?" Traditional philosophy dictates that the best employees seek out agencies with the best clients. Coyne PR's philosophy is counterculture — attract the best people, then the best clients will seek us out. We believe it is harder to find good people than good business, so we hire good people regardless of account or agency needs.
Q: Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
A: While the diversity of our employee base currently exceeds industry averages, we continue to strive to create an inclusive and welcoming culture. Our DE&I Council was created with the objective of fostering innovative actions that create and support a strong DE&I workplace. Employees set the agenda and spearhead initiatives.
Q: How did Coyne PR overcome the pandemic?
A: Senior leadership made it their promise not to lay off or furlough a single employee. Salaries and medical benefits remained intact. Team members contributed unique talents — weekly virtual cooking demonstrations, storytelling sessions, guided meditation, nutrition bootcamps, Peloton crews, and a weekly newsletter-turned-virtual-talk-show highlighting how the agency pivoted to create successful events and campaigns during COVID-19.
Q: How did you shift PR efforts to the virtual world?
A: We took our entire company and clients' communication to the virtual world. Events, deskside meetings, premieres, releases, celebrations, product launches, and sampling opportunities all changed to accommodate quarantine. The agency has helped clients revise communications plans, develop proactive initiatives, build full-scale launch campaigns, and bounce-back strategies.
Q: Impact on how you view work moving forward?
A: We discovered our unique culture is not in the walls of our offices but the hearts and minds of our 150-person team. We look forward to evolving our best-in-class hybrid work approach called "Work Your Way," which is not written in pen, but always in pencil — to leave room for improvements.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
