With keynote appearances from Gwyneth Paltrow and panels packed with communications leaders, this year’s Meltwater Summit in NYC felt less like a conference and more like a preview of where the industry is headed next. For the team at HAVAS Red U.S., it was a chance to help shape the conversation.
This year, our role at the Summit spanned three key areas. First, we supported Meltwater, a client of ours, by bringing together journalists from top trade and business publications to experience the event firsthand and connect directly with executives and speakers. From coordinating interviews to facilitating media moments in real time, our team helped keep the momentum moving from keynote stage to headline coverage.
Second, we produced an on-site short-form interview series with PRNEWS’ Nicole Schuman, capturing insights from speakers on everything from industry shifts to the evolving role of communications in a rapidly changing media landscape. The conversations reflected one recurring theme throughout the Summit: Communicators are no longer simply storytellers. They are strategic business drivers.
And finally, HAVAS PR North America Dara Busch took the stage for the panel “From Data to Decisions: How Modern Teams Make Insights Work,” sharing a large-agency perspective on why data-driven decision making has become essential in modern communications. Her message was clear: Insights only matter if they lead to action.
As Dara later reflected on LinkedIn, “PR is having a glow up.” With earned media increasingly shaping AI systems and influencing discoverability, communications has moved from support function to strategic necessity. The agencies that will lead this next era are the ones connecting earned, social and influencer into one ecosystem while using AI to unlock more creativity, not less.
Huge kudos to Redsters Lesley Sillaman, Jillian Mushman, Jordan Bieber and Amanda Reed for keeping everything running seamlessly on the ground and behind the scenes. Their work helped secure coverage in Campaign, PRWeek and PRNEWS with more coverage still rolling in.
Safe to say: The future of communications feels very now.
Take the next step and reach out today.
