Kiri Sinclair's guest appearances

Kiri Sinclair

Build a Better Agency Podcast

Living Marketing

Rob Walch

Christopher Lochhead

Dorie Clark

Gene Hammett

Blair Enns

Adam Carroll

Drew McLellan

Ann Handley

Matthew Pollard

Tom Schwab

Alex Berman

Chris Prefontaine

Mitch Matthews

Jeff Coyle

Michael Gass

OwlTail

Kiri Sinclair is the daughter of the late great Kevin Sinclair, one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated journalists, who was with the South China Morning Post for over forty years. Over his career he’s interviewed everyone from royalty and captains of industry to rural villagers, and found them all equally fascinating. Kiri is also the founder and CEO of Sinclair, an award-winning independent PR, digital and experiential agency.In this episode I talk to Kiri about how she started Sinclair, what it was like growing up with her dad, how his love of storytelling has inspired her as an entrepreneur. We also speak at length about our mutual experiences growing up in Hong Kong, the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, the dramatic growth of China, and what it’s like being a “blondest of blond” child in this Chinese city. 

Kiri Sinclair is the daughter of the late great Kevin Sinclair, one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated journalists, who was with the South China Morning Post for over forty years. Over his career he’s interviewed everyone from royalty and captains of industry to rural villagers, and found them all equally fascinating. Kiri is also the founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.sinclaircomms.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sinclair</a>, an award-winning independent PR, digital and experiential agency.In this episode I talk to Kiri about how she started Sinclair, what it was like growing up with her dad, how his love of storytelling has inspired her as an entrepreneur. We also speak at length about our mutual experiences growing up in Hong Kong, the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, the dramatic growth of China, and what it’s like being a “blondest of blond” child in this Chinese city.

Kiri Sinclair: A Child of Hong Kong

US and European based agency owners are fightly vigilantly as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds in their region of the world. It’s affecting agencies and their clients in significant ways. I’ve been talking to agency owners non-stop for the last two weeks and one thing is for sure – one agency’s experience is not like another’s. For some, business and AGI has never been better. In others, 50% of their AGI has walked out in less than ten days. I wanted to connect with an agency owner who had already experienced everything we are going through today and could tell us what’s coming next. Kiri Sinclair owns the 50-person PR shop aptly named Sinclair. They’re based in Hong Kong with hubs in several cities in China and they are about three months ahead of us in dealing with the coronavirus. Needless to say, there are some good lessons for us to learn from her experience. Hong Kong and mainland China reacted differently to the initial outbreak than European countries and the US have reacted so our experience may not be perfectly parallel. However, the timeline still provides us with some idea of what to expect moving forward. The good news is – there’s good news. Two and a half months in, client business in Hong Kong has picked up and things are moving back to normal. Every country and every agency is different, but Kiri’s story serves as a beacon of hope and helps us anticipate what is coming next. A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here. What You Will Learn in This Episode:  How agency owners across the globe are responding to the COVID-crisis The experience of Hong Kong-based agency owner Kiri Sinclair since the outbreak first occurred there over two months ago How clients responded to the global pandemic in Asia How to be proactive in protecting client relationships and the team amidst the crisis How to consider handling internal changes such as pay and lay-offs Mistakes our guest made and what she would have done differently if she knew then what she knows now  The Golden Nuggets: “Agencies in the U.S. and Europe are very lucky to have an additional two months of knowledge to make difficult decisions.” @SinclairTalkCLICK TO TWEET“Get your contingency plans in order. Then, communicate what those contingency plans are, how your business is operating at this moment in time, and how you are supporting the community to contain this outbreak.” @SinclairTalkCLICK TO TWEET Subscribe to Build A Better Agency!  Ways to contact Kiri Sinclair:  Website:   https://www.sinclaircomms.com/  https://www.sinclairarts.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinclaircomms/   LinkedIn:    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirisinclair/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinclaircomms/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SinclairComms Twitter:  @KiriSinclair @SinclairTalk    Tools &amp; Resources:  Recovery plan for agencies and brands that Sinclair authored AMI’s covid-19 survival resources page Sweet Spot Client Filter: agencymanagementinstitute.com/client-filter New Book: Sell With Authority 

US and European based agency owners are fightly vigilantly as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds in their region of the world. It’s affecting agencies and their clients in significant ways. I’ve been talking to agency owners non-stop for the last two weeks and one thing is for sure – one agency’s experience is not like another’s. For some, business and AGI has never been better. In others, 50% of their AGI has walked out in less than ten days. I wanted to connect with an agency owner who had already experienced everything we are going through today and could tell us what’s coming next. Kiri Sinclair owns the 50-person PR shop aptly named Sinclair. They’re based in Hong Kong with hubs in several cities in China and they are about three months ahead of us in dealing with the coronavirus. Needless to say, there are some good lessons for us to learn from her experience. Hong Kong and mainland China reacted differently to the initial outbreak than European countries and the US have reacted so our experience may not be perfectly parallel. However, the timeline still provides us with some idea of what to expect moving forward. The good news is – there’s good news. Two and a half months in, client business in Hong Kong has picked up and things are moving back to normal. Every country and every agency is different, but Kiri’s story serves as a beacon of hope and helps us anticipate what is coming next. A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, <a href="https://www.whitelabeliq.com/ami/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">White Label IQ</a>. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners <a href="https://www.whitelabeliq.com/ami/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">here.</a> What You Will Learn in This Episode: <ul> <li>How agency owners across the globe are responding to the COVID-crisis</li> <li>The experience of Hong Kong-based agency owner Kiri Sinclair since the outbreak first occurred there over two months ago</li> <li>How clients responded to the global pandemic in Asia</li> <li>How to be proactive in protecting client relationships and the team amidst the crisis</li> <li>How to consider handling internal changes such as pay and lay-offs</li> <li>Mistakes our guest made and what she would have done differently if she knew then what she knows now</li> </ul> The Golden Nuggets: <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagencymanagementinstitute.com%2F%3Fpost_type%3Ddigi_podcast%26p%3D13762&amp;text=%E2%80%9CAgencies%20in%20the%20U.S.%20and%20Europe%20are%20very%20lucky%20to%20have%20an%20additional%20two%20months%20of%20knowledge%20to%20make%20difficult%20decisions.%E2%80%9D%20%40SinclairTalk&amp;related" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">“Agencies in the U.S. and Europe are very lucky to have an additional two months of knowledge to make difficult decisions.” @SinclairTalk</a><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagencymanagementinstitute.com%2F%3Fpost_type%3Ddigi_podcast%26p%3D13762&amp;text=%E2%80%9CAgencies%20in%20the%20U.S.%20and%20Europe%20are%20very%20lucky%20to%20have%20an%20additional%20two%20months%20of%20knowledge%20to%20make%20difficult%20decisions.%E2%80%9D%20%40SinclairTalk&amp;related" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CLICK TO TWEET</a><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagencymanagementinstitute.com%2F%3Fpost_type%3Ddigi_podcast%26p%3D13762&amp;text=%E2%80%9CGet%20your%20contingency%20plans%20in%20order.%20Then%2C%20communicate%20what%20those%20contingency%20plans%20are%2C%20how%20your%20business%20is%20operating%20at%20this%20moment%20in%20time%2C%20and%20how%20you%20are%20supporting%20the%20community%20to%20contain%20this%20outbreak.%E2%80%9D%20%40SinclairTalk&amp;related" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">“Get your contingency plans in order. Then, communicate what those contingency plans are, how your business is operating at this moment in time, and how you are supporting the community to contain this outbreak.” @SinclairTalk</a><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagencymanagementinstitute.com%2F%3Fpost_type%3Ddigi_podcast%26p%3D13762&amp;text=%E2%80%9CGet%20your%20contingency%20plans%20in%20order.%20Then%2C%20communicate%20what%20those%20contingency%20plans%20are%2C%20how%20your%20business%20is%20operating%20at%20this%20moment%20in%20time%2C%20and%20how%20you%20are%20supporting%20the%20community%20to%20contain%20this%20outbreak.%E2%80%9D%20%40SinclairTalk&amp;related" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CLICK TO TWEET</a> Subscribe to Build A Better Agency! <a href="https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/itc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/stitcher" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Ways to contact Kiri Sinclair: <ul> <li>Website:  <ul> <li><a href="https://www.sinclaircomms.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.sinclaircomms.com/</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.sinclairarts.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.sinclairarts.com/</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinclaircomms/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinclaircomms/</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>LinkedIn:  <ul> <li> LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirisinclair/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirisinclair/</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinclaircomms/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinclaircomms/</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SinclairComms" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/SinclairComms</a></li> <li>Twitter: <ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/KiriSinclair" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@KiriSinclair</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/sinclairtalk?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@SinclairTalk</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> Tools &amp; Resources: <ul> <li><a href="https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/covid-19-agency-survival-tools/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Recovery plan for agencies and brands that Sinclair authored</a></li> <li><a href="https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/covid-19-agency-survival-tools/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">AMI’s covid-19 survival resources page</a></li> <li>Sweet Spot Client Filter: <a href="https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/client-filter" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">agencymanagementinstitute.com/client-filter</a></li> <li>New Book: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Authority-Drew-McLellan/dp/1947305077/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Sell+With+Authority&amp;qid=1584045865&amp;sr=8-1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Sell With Authority</a></li> </ul>

EP 234: Surviving the pandemic – where will your agency be in 60-90 days? with Kiri Sinclair