Everything Comes Around: The Return of Surround-Sound Communications

Trends in communications come and go—but the fundamentals of influence rarely change. What evolves is the technology that allows those fundamentals to scale.

More than 40 years ago, when I began my career in advertising, public relations, and reputation management, communications wasn’t siloed. Advertising, PR, creative, and storytelling worked together. Messages didn’t live in isolation—they surrounded audiences wherever they consumed information.

That philosophy has guided GCW from day one.

When Communications Became Fragmented

Over time, the industry moved away from this integrated approach. PR, advertising, earned media, and digital were separated into silos. Messaging became inconsistent. Impact suffered.

Even then, GCW never stopped practicing what we now call surround-sound communications—aligning earned media, credible third-party voices, ambassadors, and storytelling across the channels that mattered most.

The Media Landscape Has Reconnected

Today’s media environment has reunited what was once artificially divided.

Influencers and celebrities now produce television-quality content. Brand storytelling appears simultaneously across broadcast TV, podcasts, digital news, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and social platforms. Creativity and credibility now live side by side.

This is surround-sound communications at a scale we’ve never seen before.

Reach, Velocity, and Unified Messaging

A story can break on television, be amplified by trusted experts, reshaped by creators, and embedded into everyday conversation across social platforms—within hours.

Audiences don’t experience messages once.
They experience them everywhere.

Not a Pivot—A Continuation

At GCW, this isn’t a pivot. It’s a continuation.

For decades, we’ve understood that influence is built when people hear the same truth from multiple credible directions—media, third-party experts, ambassadors, and cultural voices—each reinforcing the other.

Surround-sound communications isn’t new.
What’s new is the clarity, speed, and reach.

When messages are orchestrated—not isolated—they don’t just get heard.They get believed.