Building Brand Gravity: Attracting People Into Your Orbit

Hosted by G&S Communications

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Aug 2026

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Building Brand Gravity: Attracting People Into Your Orbit, is a podcast for communicators across industries looking to gain an inside view into business influence. Each episode will feature a down-to-earth conversation with leading communications professionals, to share what they’re hearing and what they’re saying, in real time. Welcome to Building Brand Gravity!

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51 recent

August 13, 202647 min

What 50 Conversations Taught Us About Brand and Leadership

Fifty episodes, dozens of CEOs, founders, journalists, leaders, and communicators, and one thing kept surfacing no matter who was in the chair. For the 50th episode, Anne Green and Steve Halsey look back at what four years of conversations have actually taught them. The surprise wasn’t the differences between their guests, but how often they landed on the same ideas. From communications becoming a driver of business value, to trust that’s earned long before a crisis, to the rise of the human as architect in an AI world, and to narrative as the operating system of a company, they trace the through-lines that keep showing up. It’s a candid, hopeful reflection on where leadership and brand building goes next, and why it all still comes down to people. In this episode: Why communications shifted from something organizations do to how they operate, and understanding communications and brand as business assets What 50 conversations taught the hosts about trust, standing your ground, and staying credible in an increasingly GEO and AI-driven world The move from the concept of “human in the loop” to treating the human as architect of the work Why curiosity, tenacity, and people are the through-line behind every brand that builds real gravity

July 21, 202658 min

How the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Unites the Storytellers

Brand isn’t a logo or a launch moment. It’s an enterprise-wide undertaking that lives in every function, every stakeholder, and increasingly, every AI answer. Anne Green sits down with Megan Noel, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Covista, America’s largest healthcare educator, to unpack what it really takes to build and relaunch a brand fromthe inside out. Megan shares how Covista brought a new enterprise brand to life, why this work was a shared endeavor between Communications and Marketing, the necessity of partnering across functions, and how getting employees bought in first can help create ambassadors ratherthan detractors. They also get into the rise of the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer role, why she’d happily retire the term “public relations” for good, and what the answer engine economy means for how brands earn trust in an AI-first world. In this episode: • The growth of the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer role and why many CEOs are putting all the storytellers under one seat • How Covista built a new enterprise brand that spans multiple institutions, and why the work couldn’t sit with Marketing alone • Why getting employees bought in first is the difference between brand ambassadors and brand detractors • What the answer engine economy means for press releases, brand consistency, and earning trust from AI.

June 30, 202646 min

AI Is a Tool, Channel, and Leadership Competency

AI is no longer just a productivity tool. It is a channel, a leadership competency, and a pressure test on whether your story holds up across every part of your brand. Steve Halsey sits down with Hailey Driscoll, SVP of PR and Managing Director, Boston at Walker Sands, and Jon Woods, partner at Ground Floor Media, to unpack what is actually working in AI adoption and where leaders are getting stuck. The conversation builds on insights from the first PROI Americas AI Summit, where agency leaders from across the region came together to compare notes on what is real and what is hype. They get into the messy middle of AI maturity, why fixating on efficiency leaves real value on the table, and how AI is reshaping brand visibility through generative search and the emerging discipline of story hygiene. The episode closes with practical advice on staying curious in a constantly shifting landscape and the case for treating AI adoption as an organizational leadership decision, not just a tech project. In this episode: Why fixating on AI as an efficiency tool is leaving the real value on the table How AI is becoming a marketing channel through generative search and what GEO means for brand visibility Why story hygiene is now a foundational comms discipline What CCOs and CMOs should be building before they scale AI across their teams

June 16, 202651 min

Why Good Leadership Is No Longer Good Enough

Good leaders were trained for stable times. The problem is the times are no longer stable, and “good” is no longer good enough. Anne Green sits down with David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group and author of the new book The Heart Work of Modern Leadership: 6 Differentiators of Exceptional Leaders. Drawing on research conducted with The Harris Poll, David unpacks the three invisible gaps tied to “good leadership” that are quietly undermining engagement, trust, and business results today. They get into why gratitude is one of the top differentiators of exceptional leaders, why psychological safety is really a listening challenge with deeper roots, and how to communicate with context when you do not have all the answers. The conversation closes with David's case for retiring the term "soft skills" and treating them as what they actually are: the hardest skills in modern leadership and core to the “human moat” that AI is unlikely to cross. In this episode: Why "good" leaders are uniquely vulnerable in a moment of constant change Key distinctions between “good” and “exceptional” leadership The three invisible gaps The Harris Poll research uncovered and what they reveal Why gratitude is a top differentiator of exceptional leadership How leading with both heart and head builds teams that are high performance and highly human

June 2, 202654 min

Know Where You Stand and Stand There

In a crisis, facts sometimes win arguments. But trust wins you the benefit of the doubt, and the benefit of the doubt is what saves you when the story moves faster than the facts. Anne Green sits down with Bradley Akubuiro, partner at Bully Pulpit International and author of the new book Faster, Messier, Tougher: Crisis Communication Strategies in an Era of Populism, AI, and Distrust. Bradley unpacks why the operating environment for leaders has fundamentally changed, how to tell the difference between an issue and a true crisis, and why conviction pays while waffling costs everything. They get into the framework he uses to help clients decide when to lean in, when to stay quiet, and how to match engagement to the actual level of risk in front of them. Bradley and Anne discuss his counsel to leaders to “figure out where you stand and then actually stand there,” so corporate values mean something when they are put to the test. The conversation closes with three practical takeaways for leaders navigating a moment where speed beats polish and resilience is built long before the crisis arrives. In this episode: Why trust and truth are different currencies, and why trust matters more under pressure How to grade risk and decide whether an issue is actually your story to own The case for consistency over volume when standing in your values Why employees are either your greatest ambassadors or your most credible detractors

May 19, 202655 min

Lessons from Three CEOs on Leading Over the Long Haul

The agencies performing best right now are not always the biggest or the most specialized. They are the ones figuring out how to evolve alongside their clients, lead with conviction, and build something that lasts. And that includes actively reflecting on the lessons of leadership learned along the way. Anne Green sits down with Beth Cleveland, CEO of Praytell, and Laura Tomasetti, CEO and founder of 360PR+, to mark their shared recognition on PRWeek's 2026 Women of Distinction list. The three trade lessons learned across decades of leadership – from what feels familiar versus what feels genuinely new in the agency world right now to the rise of AI as a value-creating catalyst. They share stories of the mentors who shaped them, why "walk around" leadership still matters in a hybrid world, and how celebrating small wins is critical for teams in danger of burning out on constant change. The conversation closes with practical leadership advice for anyone earlier in their career, including the case for active listening, leaning into your authentic strengths, and not traveling “too light” when it comes to maintaining the relationships you build along the way. In this episode: Why the best agencies today are operating partners, not just service providers How to balance the pace of change with sustainable, healthy team culture What active listening, authenticity, and curiosity unlock for emerging leaders The case for thinking like a counselor early in your career, not just an executor

May 7, 202646 min

How to Close the Business Confidence Gap

Doing the work is not enough anymore. Companies have to prove it, explain it, and make it visible, or it will not land with the people who matter. Steve Halsey sits down with Dr. Rochelle Ford, CEO of the Page Society, to dig into the latest Page and Harris Poll Confidence in Business Index. Rochelle breaks down why the confidence curve is breaking globally, how only 29 percent of consumers see both the action and the context they need to trust companies, and why the economic story has become the most important narrative battleground for 2026. They get into the generational divide on issues like mental health, the rise of generative AI as a primary information source, and what it takes to build a content foundation that AI engines will actually surface. The conversation closes with a four-step plan for communicators and a candid look at where the profession is heading in a moment of full transformation. In this episode: Why action and context together are the only way to rebuild confidence in business How search and generative AI are merging and what that means for getting your story found Why mental health and economic impact are now table stakes for reaching younger audiences A four-step plan for owning your narrative, calibrating by generation, and modernizing your channel mix

April 28, 202643 min

AI as a Leadership Test

AI isn’t the disruption. It’s the pressure test. In this first mailbag episode of 2026, Anne Green and Steve Halsey revisit the predictions, questions, and themes shaping the year so far, and what they reveal about leadership, value, and alignment inside organizations. From narrative as an operating system to the limits of “human in the loop,” the conversation challenges conventional thinking on productivity, pricing, and what it really takes to lead in a compressive moment where volatility, trust, and technology are colliding. The takeaway: this isn’t about adapting to AI. It’s about whether your organization is built to withstand what AI is now exposing. In this episode: Why this is a compressive moment, not just disruption How AI is exposing gaps in leadership, narrative, and alignment Why “human as architect” beats “human in the loop” What it really takes to move from hours to value in a compressed world

April 7, 202630 min

What Agency Leaders Need to Get Right Now

While AI’s impact and opportunity are top of mind for all integrated communications and PR agency executives, there is a wider disruption happening across agency business models, talent systems, and trust. The firms that evolve with and win in this next chapter will be the ones that make time to relentlessly learn, define value clearly, and keep human capabilities at the forefront – even as they are augmented by technology.Anne Green and Steve Halsey open with takeaways from a recent AI summit they hosted for PROI Worldwide’s Americas region, including what the group is seeing around AI adoption, change management, and the shift from hours and outputs to impact. Then Anne is joined by Kim Sample, President of the PR Council, for a wide-angle conversation on where the industry is headed and what leaders should be thinking about and doing next – including why growth is uneven, why a learning mindset is a critical differentiator in this current moment of change, and advice for both [AG1] agency and corporate-side communications leaders. They also dig into the need for industry leaders to forge a clearer vision for the future of AI and work in our field, stronger ethics and bias guardrails, and the continued centrality of the trusted advisor relationship between agencies and clients.In this episode: What the PROI AI summit revealed about uneven adoption and the “muddy middle” of real integration Areas where PR and integrated marketing communications leaders must be focused today Managing through a time of great change in the agency sector – and for client partners too Why value-based pricing models focused on impact, not just “time and materials,” are becoming the strategic unlock for agencies Career advice that raises relevance fast, from understanding client business fundamentals to reading the numbers behind the story

March 5, 202631 min

Your Narrative Is Your Operating System

In an era of AI acceleration, channel fragmentation, and constant crisis, brands don’t fail because they lack tools. They fail because their narrative systems are outdated. In this episode, Anne Green and Steve Halsey unpack a core premise they have been pressure-testing with clients and inside their own business: narrative is not just what you say about the business, it is how the business runs. They make the concept tangible with real-world examples of how strategy fractures when teams optimize for different instincts, and how a strong narrative can make an organization more coherent, legible, and resilient. They also explore how AI increases speed, volume, and risk, and why it can either amplify misalignment or reinforce coherence depending on whether the narrative is truly embedded. The conversation closes with a practical gut-check leaders can use to see if their narrative operating system needs an upgrade. In this episode: What it means to treat narrative as infrastructure, not messaging Why AI does not replace leadership clarity, it exposes whether or not you have it How crisis reveals your real operating system, not your strategy or playbook Three questions to help leaders pressure-test decision-making, AI use, and readiness under pressure.