The future of agencies · Episode 66 · Season 4 · ·
Built for Social. Not Trying to Be Anything Else.
Adam Clyne, founder and CEO of Coolr, and Mark Lainas, US President, on how big agency brains combined with the speed of a social publishing business creates something that neither traditional agencies nor pure social publishers can replicate, why staying strictly within the social ecosystem is a strategic discipline, and what eight years of building one of the most awarded independent social agencies looks like.
Adam Clyne, Founder & CEO, Coolr. In conversation with Justin Cooke.
Built for Social. Not Trying to Be Anything Else.
0:0037:00Why combining big agency strategic rigour with the speed of a social publisher creates something neither can replicate alone
Adam Clyne spent years at Weber Shandwick transforming a traditional corporate PR business into a digitally and socially centric agency, winning PR Digital Agency of the Year. He then joined the LAD Bible as COO, experiencing from the inside how a social publisher scales communities, moves fast, and plays in culture. Coolr, now eight years old with 150-plus people and private equity backing, is the synthesis of those two experiences.
Mark Lainas joined as US President to lead the American expansion, and Coolr's US client list now includes the San Francisco 49ers, the Professional Women's Hockey League, LG Electronics, OpenTable, and Opendoor. In this conversation they explain why being exclusively focused on social is a competitive strength rather than a limitation, and why the water cooler metaphor at the heart of the Coolr name still captures exactly what social is.
Why did you start Coolr?
“Coolr was the culmination of two experiences. I transformed a traditional corporate PR business, Weber Shandwick, to be digitally and socially centric, winning PR Digital Agency of the Year. Then I went to the LAD Bible as COO and saw from the inside how to scale communities, move fast, and play in culture. Coolr combined what I called big agency brains, strategy, creativity, compliance, with the speed and agility of a social publishing business.”
The synthesis of two worlds that individually could not solve the whole problem.
What differentiates you from traditional agencies?
“We are designed and built for social. We do not try to go outside our swim lane. We do not want to make TV commercials or run PR or events. If it is in the ecosystem of social, social content publishing, influencer, we will do it and we will probably be best in class. If it is outside that, we are not interested.”
The discipline of staying in the swim lane.
Tell me about the Coolr name
“COOLR with no E. It was literally and metaphorically the evolution of the water cooler conversation, which used to happen inside an office. People would talk about what they watched on TV. That conversation was transferred into the digital and social ecosystem. Social is the new water cooler. And that is how it all came about.”
The metaphor that explains the company's entire reason for being.
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“We are pinching ourselves. SF 49ers, Professional Women's Hockey League, LG Electronics, OpenTable, Opendoor. A team of nearly 20 people in the US. Austin, Portland, LA, San Francisco. We explore New York and Canada as next steps. The brands have taken notice.”
The US expansion in concrete terms.
How do you build culture in a fast-moving social agency?
“We talk a huge amount about accountability. What can I do better before we say what someone else can do better. That is what we have under control in ourselves. And having each other's backs. In a remote team, that discipline is essential because you cannot rely on physical presence to maintain culture.”
The accountability model as the cultural anchor.
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Read the full transcript
Lightly edited for readability
Justin Cooke Adam, why did you start Coolr?
Adam Clyne Coolr was the culmination of two experiences. Transforming Weber Shandwick to be digitally and socially centric. Then going inside the LAD Bible as COO and seeing how to scale communities at the speed of culture. Coolr combined big agency brains with social publisher speed. How you interface with big grown-up brands at the speed of culture. That was new. That was exciting.
Justin Cooke What differentiates you?
Adam Clyne We are designed and built for social. We do not try to go outside our swim lane. If it is in the social ecosystem we will do it and probably be best in class. If it is outside, we are not interested.
Mark Lainas The US expansion has been extraordinary. SF 49ers, PWHL, LG Electronics, OpenTable. Nearly 20 people across Portland, LA, San Francisco, Austin. We pinch ourselves.
