Forbes Names 21C Media Group Among “America’s Best PR Agencies 2021”
(Photo: Getty Creative; design: Forbes)
Now in its 21st year of business, 21C Media Group is honored to be the only specialist performing arts firm selected as one of “America’s Best PR Agencies 2021” by Forbes. This inaugural list of the nation’s top 200 PR companies was compiled in partnership with market research firm Statistica, which surveyed more than 33,000 experts and customers who nominated more than 5,000 firms for consideration. 21C is also one of just 108 companies that were awarded a full five stars.
Long recognized as “a cutting-edge agency that helps artists develop all aspects of their careers” (New York Times), 21C Media Group has also been honored by the Kennedy Center and has received both a Jim Henson Honor and a “Webby” Award. Since its founding in 2000 by Albert Imperato, Jessica Lustig and Glenn Petry, the boutique agency has built an international roster of top-flight performing artists and organizations. To accompany them on their journeys and help tell their stories, hone their projects, raise their profiles and engage their fans, the team draws on deep knowledge of the industry and on meaningful, productive relationships with those in a position to make a difference. True to its name, 21C is forward-looking and adaptable, committed to seeing its clients thrive in today’s ever-changing cultural and media landscapes.
Managing Director Albert Imperato says:
“This honor means a lot to us. We’re passionate about classical music and the performing arts, and it’s been a real privilege to represent such a remarkable group of artists and organizations over the past two decades. We are very grateful to them, and to our colleagues in the media and all the dedicated people who’ve helped make the company what it is today. It’s thanks to them that our journey has been such an exciting and rewarding one, and we look forward to seeing where it will take us in 2021 and beyond.”
Last month, in partnership with YouTube and Google Arts & Culture, 21C launched “Global Ode to Joy,” a crowd-sourced video project to spread joy in honor of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. This new initiative marks the company’s second international collaboration with YouTube and Google, following the success of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra; designed and promoted by 21C, the orchestra’s performances were livestreamed by a then record-breaking 33 million viewers in almost 200 countries.
This year, when the pandemic presented the arts with unprecedented challenges, 21C remained focused on guiding and supporting its clients in their innovative efforts to stay connected with their communities and audiences. Here are a few highlights from this difficult year:
-Yo-Yo Ma was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2020, after his digital campaign #SongsofComfort brought solace to more than 18 million people worldwide.
-Violinist Daniel Hope’s live TV series Hope@Home was streamed more than six million times by viewers on five continents, receiving coverage in The Guardian and raising thousands of Euros for arts-related charities. The series has just been renewed and will reach even more people in the coming weeks.
-As detailed in a dedicated New York Times feature, Alisa Weilerstein deepened her relationship with online fans in her #36DaysOfBach project, reaching more than 300,000 through Facebook.
-Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra, composed and issued You Can’t Stop the Revolution, a single featuring sound samples from Louisville protests, and, as featured in Vogue magazine, conducted the orchestral premiere of Davóne Tines’s VIGIL, a tribute to slain Louisville native Breonna Taylor.
As reported on CNN and PBS Newshour, The Atlanta Opera transformed its costume shop into an “essential service” to make hospital PPE; created personalized “Singing Telegrams” for frontline healthcare workers and others; and reinvented its business model with a season of customized, open-air chamber productions.
Working closely with its valued colleagues in the media, 21C has the privilege of guiding talented artists at all stages of their careers. In addition to creating opportunities and making key introductions, the company provides support for presenters, media companies, start-ups and festivals, which it brings to national notice, and undertakes far-reaching collaborations with such change-making international institutions as the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the Global Fund and World Economic Forum. Click here to learn more about the 21C team, and see the links below for more information about the company.
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© 21C Media Group, November 2020