Welcome to Franco! We are proud to reveal the next generation of the Franco brand — a celebration of our past, present and future. Franco has been a leader in public relations in Detroit and beyond for more than five decades. We’re story tellers, but we’re usually helping our clients refine their messages, their strategies and their stories. We’ve worked hard in recent years to refine our capabilities in order to anticipate and serve the evolving needs of our clients. Now, it’s time to tell our own story.
Franco was founded in Detroit in 1964 by PR legend Tony Franco. Tony helped build the local and national PR industry, shaping many brands along the way. Many great PR pros and leaders have worked at or with Franco over the years, too many to mention (but stay tuned for a future post that celebrates our alumni!), but none more impactful than our longtime CEO Dan Ponder. Dan joined Franco in 1985 as a young accountant after putting in his time at Touche Ross (now Deloitte). Dan worked alongside Tony Franco through the years, leading agency operations and strategy and putting together acquisitions and partnerships that kept Franco ahead of the curve, connected in the community and respected for its quality and its culture.
In the late 1980s, Franco was acquired by Ross Roy Communications, an advertising agency on its way to becoming one of the largest independent firms in the U.S. In 1993, Dan led a management buyout of the company and returned Franco to its position as a locally-owned agency with global clients and vision.
Today, Franco is more than a public relations agency. We’ve evolved over five decades to integrate marketing, social media, design and measurement — to deliver communications programs that impact organizational performance. But public relations is still at the heart of what we do.
So, why evolve the Franco brand when it’s already well established?
Here’s why. Public relations is changing. The depth and breadth of our industry is changing. Traditional public relations continues to evolve. And so does Franco. Today, public relations is complex. It’s a balance of creativity and data, analytics and emotion. Sometimes being bold; sometimes, playing it safe. Public relations is content, it’s social media. It’s digital marketing and design. It’s thinking different about communications, listening and engaging. And public relations is all about community.
Today, Franco means more than just public relations. It means smart, integrated and data-driven communications. Franco means listening, courage, integrity, balance, purpose and community.
Today, there is no one person that exemplifies Franco. Franco means teamwork — and today, we have the best (and coolest!) team around.
Since the only constant is change, we’ll keep moving forward. We’ll stay sharp, connected and looking ahead. Our vision for the future is about our clients, our team and our community. It thrills us, inspires us and makes us work harder every day.
We will challenge our clients to think differently about communications, inspire our team members to deliver excellent and purposeful service and make a positive impact on our community and our world.
If you’ve been part of Franco’s story, we want to hear from you (and if you want to be part of our next chapter, we want to hear from you too!). Please leave us a note in the comments below, or send an email to [email protected].
Tina Kozak is president of Franco Public Relations Group. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter @tinakozak. Connect with Franco PR Group on Facebook and Twitter @FrancoPRGroup.
