Exclusive: Boutique PR firms band together to launch Plenty & Co. collective
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Three boutique firms — Six Eastern, Daly and Care of Chan — have come together to launch a new agency collective, Plenty & Co., Axios exclusively reports.
Why it matters: Collectives like Plenty & Co. are betting the future isn't a single agency of record, but a curated ecosystem of specialists that can plug in as needed.
State of play: Clients are increasingly looking for strategic, bespoke advisory services over expensive, big-box PR — especially as in-house comms teams turn to AI to handle more of the execution work traditionally outsourced to agencies.
- According to a recent BCG report, 37% of comms leaders are considering reducing agency spend by more than 5% over the next 12 months.
- Roughly 1 in 4 say they plan to dedicate more than 10% of their budget to AI tools.
Zoom in: Plenty & Co. is comprised of Six Eastern, which was founded by Emilie Gerber and focuses on B2B and technical PR; consumer PR and brand shop Daly, founded by Alex Daly; and experiential events firm Care of Chan, founded by Sue Chan.
- Together, the founding firms generate eight figures in revenue, employ nearly 50 people, and represent clients like Yahoo!, Substack, A24, J Crew and You.com.
- In the months ahead, Plenty & Co. plans to bring in agencies with expertise in social, content and video.
Between the lines: Unlike traditional roll-ups, Plenty & Co. does not consolidate ownership or force integration, says Gerber.
- Instead, this structure allows Six Eastern, Daly and Care of Chan clients to tap into the expertise of those within the collective — whether it's technical communications, consumer launches, or experiential campaigns.
- Its model mirrors how modern comms functions are already operating internally — lean teams, specialized partners, and project-based work.
What they're saying: "I think the reason why our model works better than working with a larger agency is that larger agencies, because they have a lot of pressure to scale and have so much overhead, is that they really lack depth across disciplines. They end up being jacks of all trades," Chan told Axios.
- "We're not like a top down model, and instead operate like a flatter model. With [Plenty & Co.], you are going to get access our advisory group of true experts," she added.
What to watch: The quiet breakup of the traditional agency model.
- As AI chips away at executional work and clients scrutinize retainers, more brands are likely to move away from single, full-service agencies toward flexible networks of specialists.
- That shift could accelerate pressure on large holding companies already grappling with consolidation, margin compression and talent retention.
The bottom line: The agency of the future may look less like a monolith and more like a lean network of experts.
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