8. FINN Partners
FINN Partners is expanding at warp speed. In 2024 alone, this giant independent added a staggering 175 new clients, a number that would take most agencies a lifetime to rack up. In a testament to its appetite for more, the firm now has 1,300 full-time employees, 34 offices—counting New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Dublin, Mumbai, Singapore and beyond—and approximately 1,000 clients worldwide.
Among new names on this generalist firm’s roster: Boston Dynamics and Locus Robotics, hospitality behemoths Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Darden Restaurants, grooming disruptor Dollar Shave Club, the World Travel and Tourism Council, major sports orgs like the Professional Women’s Hockey League and Cosm, a global tech company delivering immersive experiences across sports, entertainment, science and education. In 2024, FINN announced a partnership with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, an organization accelerating the path to net-positive hospitality.
Of course, growth is one thing—retention is another. FINN’s jaw-dropping 87 percent client retention rate means marquee names like Bridgestone, Jack Daniels, Tempur-Sealy and 2k Games are staying put, proving that once you’re in the FINN orbit, you’re in it for the long haul.
CEO and founding partner Peter Finn credits a purpose-built “innovation communications” model for the firm’s potent retention and growth. “Media hits and vanity metrics aren’t enough,” he tells Observer. “There is an art and science to bringing innovative ideas to the table, and we’ve carved out a strong niche in this area.”
To be clear, FINN cares about more than rankings, conversions and other metrics. Long a believer in doing good while doing well, its healthcare practice partnered with French biotech start-up Ziwig to launch a breakthrough saliva test for endometriosis—an innovation with the potential to change the lives of 1 in 10 women worldwide affected by the condition.
FINN’s formidable Arts Division, led by Philippa Polskin, specializes in visual arts and added a gallery of blue-chip clients last year, including the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (New Delhi, India), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Las Vegas Museum of Art, Yale Center for British Art, Warsaw Museum of Modern Art, Ravinia, Frida Escobedo Studio and returning client The Broad Art. Other Polskin clients include MoMA, Studio Museum in Harlem, the Getty, American Museum of Natural History and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Polskin was selected for Observer’s Best Specialty PR Firms (Visual Arts) but asked to be rolled into FINN’s main list entry. In July, FINN acquired the Paris-based arts and culture firm Claudine Colin Communication (CCC).
So, here we are. Bigger, smarter and still holding onto its clients, FINN Partners continues to show the industry how it’s done.
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