Episode

Kelly Bennett on PR talent, independence & life after Omnicom

Podcast
Earned First
Published
Feb 16, 2026
Duration seconds
1851
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://rss.com/podcasts/earned-first/2552350
Audio
https://content.rss.com/episodes/328453/2552350/earned-first/2026_02_16_10_32_08_18593ec4-8d3a-491f-bd07-03096a0b11bb.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/earned-first-7353885/episodes/kelly-bennett-on-pr-talent-independence-life-after-omnicom
Markdown
/podcast/earned-first-7353885/kelly-bennett-on-pr-talent-independence-life-after-omnicom.md

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Summary

In this episode of the Earned First podcast, Kelly Bennett , founder and managing director of New Zealand's One Plus One, explains how he has built and grown an independent PR firm through a prolonged economic downturn. He details the operating choices behind that performance, including disciplined growth, leadership depth and a strong emphasis on qualitative factors such as curiosity, judgment and interpersonal capability over narrow functional or quantitative skills. The conversation also draws on Bennett’s experience inside Omnicom, where he observed multiple cycles of restructuring, consolidation and brand retirements. He discusses how holding-company turbulence affects agency culture and leadership, and what independent founders can learn from watching established network brands expand, contract or disappear altogether.