AGENCY NEWS

Golin Adds to Social Impact + Inclusion Specialty to Elevate Growth in New York

September 15, 2022

Nicole Hawkins adds to the practice’s growing bench as the agency embeds social purpose strategy into every target growth market

NEW YORK (September 15, 2022) – Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) agency Golin announced today the appointment of Nicole Hawkins as director in Golin’s social impact + inclusion practice in its New York office. Hawkins started earlier this summer and reports to Laura Sutphen, Golin’s managing director of social impact + inclusion.

Hawkins’ hire adds to a diverse growing bench as part of Golin’s continued commitment to elevate impact-driven work and invest in specialty talent to drive its micro-purpose strategy in its target growth markets. Hawkins will be a key driver of business development and practice integration across all Golin Group agency brands. Hawkins is working across multiple Golin clients in New York on social impact strategy and inclusive communications, including Johnson & Johnson Skin – Aveeno and Neutrogena brands, – bubly, L’Oreal Paris and Mattress Firm.

“With more than 20 years of experience across a variety of sectors, Nicole is an exceptional leader to join our talented team and help drive our social impact growth in New York,” Sutphen said. “Her deep knowledge will help us raise the bar in creating social impact campaigns that create change that matters for our clients and their audiences.”

Prior to joining Golin, Hawkins ran her own consulting firm as president of Nicole Hawkins Communications, which included work with AARP, Colon Cancer Alliance, Comcast SportsNet (NBC Sports Washington), the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, the National Kidney Foundation of the National Capital Area, WJLA-TV/ABC 7, Panera Bread and the Washington Spirit (National Women’s Soccer League).

Prior to consulting, Hawkins spent five years with Monumental Sports & Entertainment where she served as director of public relations for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, was director of public relations for Capital One Arena and the assistant director of public relations for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. Hawkins also taught a course in Career Management Strategy as a professor at the George Washington University School of Business, and she served as a consultant in the school’s Sports Philanthropy Executive Certificate Program.

“Spending the better part of two decades consulting on client business challenges and helping organizations position themselves for the future, I am excited to work with Golin during a time where purpose has a seat at the table and is the centerfold for client solutions,” Hawkins said. “I look forward to collaborating with every aspect of the agency in New York and forging new partnerships that make an impact on clients, organizations and the communities they reach.”

Golin officially reorganized purpose and intersectionality into a newly created practice area last year with the return of Laura Sutphen as managing director – now called social impact + inclusion. The agency has seen a sharp uptick in purpose-driven work over the past year, securing more than 28 new clients or client briefs for Golin Group agency brands. Several come from the Golin Group’s fast-growing New York presence, including Lubriderm, Mattress Firm, PepsiCo, Converse, LEGO Group, Sephora and IHOP.

“At Golin, we are proud to claim that we do the best work of our lives, and that couldn’t be more accurate for our New York operations,” said Dawn Langeland, president, Golin New York. “It’s important that our business approaches not only reach audiences but make a difference, and I’m delighted to have Nicole as a key social impact and inclusive leader and as a trusted client counselor who will help supercharge our growth in this dynamic area.”

Hawkins joins a team of 15 social impact + inclusion specialists mostly focused on North American clients.