It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly three decades since I borrowed $12,500 from my mother-in-law and older brother and decided to launch a PR firm in my Black Lab’s honor.

Peppercomm entered the business world on September 1, 1995, and, since then, has experienced more ups-and-downs than a yo-yo on steroids…

- O’Dwyer’s twice named us America’s fastest growing firm of the year in the late 1990’s
- PR Week named us Agency of the Year in 2006
- Crain’s New York Business named us best workplace in 2011
- PR Week named us best workplace of 2020 (an amazing achievement considering the mega societal and health woes that brought the entire world to a standstill)
- And we’re once again a finalist for Crain’s New York Business of the year.

We’ve thrived in spite of some serious setbacks:

- The dotcom crash
- The post 9/11 client halt on all PR/marketing spends
- The 2008 market correction
- A vicious Kramer v. Kramer business divorce in 2018.

The reasons we’ve thrived begin and end with great people, great people and, yes, great people.

Ann Barlow, Jackie Kolek and Maggie O’Neill all marked their 20th anniversaries this year. I do not exaggerate when I say that, without their superb client counseling (and having my back when I needed it most), there would be no Peppercomm today.

Then there’s Courtney Ellul, Matt Purdue, Melissa Vigue and Tara Lilien, four other formidable partners, who have made countless contributions over the years.

And I MUST pay homage to a superb middle management cadre, a very cool group of whip smart junior employees and an IT director who contributes more creative ideas on a daily basis than any IT executive anywhere.

Last, and certainly not least, is our humor-driven culture.

Unlike ANY other PR firm, we train employees in stand-up and improvisational humor, tie it into our annual charitable fundraising and now offer three distinct modules to meet the unprecedented needs of client organizations in every conceivable industry.

Peppercomm’s humor-driven culture is our key differentiator and the not-so-hidden secret to our winning so many workplace awards as well as countless best campaigns of the year citations for so many superb clients.

Success is a beautiful thing that grows increasingly beautiful when an organization occasionally stumbles and falls, but gets right back up each and every time and each and every time becomes a little bit stronger, a little bit nimbler and dare I say, a whole lot cooler than ever.

So let me introduce to you the one and only Peppercomm, 26 years young and growing younger (and stronger) every day.

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