Campaign Brief Q&A: Connecting Plots talks earned strategy, integration, and what’s next for the agency’s newly launched PR offering

Following the news that Connecting Plots is formally launching a PR and earned media offering—led by newly appointed Head of PR, Katie Eastment—Campaign Brief caught up with Eastment (above right) and CEO & Co-Founder Tom Phillips (above left) to talk about the agency’s integrated thinking, the shift in client needs, and why the time was right to officially add PR and earned to the mix.

 

What was it about Connecting Plots that made this move the right next step for you?

Katie Eastment: The team’s approach to creative thinking and ‘imagination in every impression’ already lends itself so well to PR. What really excited me is getting to be in the room early alongside creative, strategy and production so that PR can help shape free-range ideas that have a natural home in earned.

The agency does things differently and Connecting Plots have already been developing strategies that play in the earned space. I’m really looking forward to elevating that offering. It is going to be incredibly valuable in helping brands execute truly integrated campaigns that actually cut through and at the same time stretch budgets further.

You mentioned being drawn to their “insight-led, integrated thinking”—can you talk about what that looks like in action, especially from an earned perspective?

KE: To actually connect with audiences, brands need to tell a story people actually care about and connect that story perfectly. And you can’t do this without putting the audience first.

Connecting Plots is all about crafting and connecting emotive and memorable brand stories seamlessly across every nook and cranny of the customer and comms experience. Every brand impression in every channel matters. Whether it’s earned or social, an EDM or a TVC, each one is just as important to get right.

You’ve worked across some big brands—are there any particular campaign lessons you’re excited to bring into this new chapter?

KE: There’s so many. The biggest lesson that I carry with me for every approach is to push beyond the easiest or most obvious way forward. There is a time and a place for easy and obvious, but in most instances, creative thinking can always find a better way in.

PR and earned media are constantly evolving—what opportunities do you think brands often overlook in this space?

KE: For a lot of brands, PR can be an afterthought. The biggest opportunity I see for brands is harnessing earned-led, integrated thinking as early as possible in the creative process. Ideas that punch above their weight can be driven though earned, but also have a home in owned, paid and partner channels.

What kind of clients or briefs are you most excited to sink your teeth into at Connecting Plots?

KE: I’m most excited to introduce PR thinking to clients who haven’t played in this space before, or haven’t for a long time. I’m three weeks in and we’re already having some really exciting conversations with clients about earned led strategies. Watch this space.

Why was now the right time to formally launch a PR and earned offering at Connecting Plots?

Tom Phillips: When Dave [Dave Jansen, Founding Partner] and I first started Connecting Plots seven years ago, our vision was to create ideas that could extend from a single strategy across every touchpoint. That’s the basis behind the name “Connecting Plots” – defining a brand’s story and then connecting it consistently across everything they do. We’ve delivered that for years in traditional channels, but the media landscape has changed. Clients now need more content in more channels, often with shrinking budgets and higher expectations for ROI. It’s harder than ever to reach audiences through traditional media alone. So, launching a PR and earned offering wasn’t just logical, it was necessary. This capability allows us to get more mileage from our ideas and gives clients more bang for buck.

How will this new capability shape the kind of creative work you want to be known for?

TP: We want to be known for ideas that punch above their weight – smart, integrated, creatively ambitious work that delivers business impact. Adding PR and earned to the mix helps us create ideas that don’t just live in ad units but break into newsfeeds, conversations, and culture. When you have PR minds involved from the outset, the creative expands beyond traditional formats. We’re not just thinking about what a brand says, we’re thinking about what’s worth saying and how we can make it resonate across paid, owned, and earned channels. This new capability will help our ideas go wider, deeper, and ultimately work harder, which is exactly what our clients are asking for right now.

Was there a particular campaign or client need that pushed you to make this move?

TP: It wasn’t one specific campaign or client. It was a pattern we kept seeing across the board. More and more clients have been asking for integrated solutions under one roof. The industry tends to cycle between specialists and generalists, and right now, clients want simplicity, consistency, and efficiency. They’re tired of fragmented strategies and disjointed executions. By bringing PR and earned capabilities in-house, alongside our existing social, influencer, content and production capabilities, we’re able to meet that need and offer a more streamlined, strategic approach – whether it’s for consumer campaigns or B2B or a bit of both. It’s about making life easier for our clients and ensuring our creative ideas don’t miss the opportunity to reach as many hearts and minds as possible.

How do you see PR and earned integrating with your existing media, creative, and influencer offerings?

TP: It should be seamless. We’ve always approached ideas with an integrated mindset, so this is a natural extension. Clients have commented that too often, PR is bolted on at the end of the process. I’ve also heard that complaint from peers who work in PR. What we’re doing now is flipping that – bringing PR thinking much earlier into the creative process so ideas are designed for multi-channel impact from the start. It means we can now easily connect creative, media, PR, social, influencer, content and production at any stage in the process, giving clients a more streamlined experience and ultimately making more interesting work.