Reflecting on 2024 in 24 lessons
24 industry pros reflect on a year in comms
CHERRY ON TOP 🍒 is our monthly newsletter exploring the ins and outs of everything that modern businesses need to truly shine. We dive into topics that live at the intersection of our two companies – ORCHARD STREET, a seed fund & DALY, a comms+ agency – as both help founders get the best ideas out into the world, through outstanding operations, comms, and culture-building.
Ally here! I was originally going to write our final 2024 issue of Cherry on Top about how to create an impact-driven quarterly review process at your company. But while falling asleep one night in late November, I had a brain-blast: what everyone wants this time of year is not quite an operations how-to, but rather to reflect on the year just passed, and envision how we’ll make next year even better.
I’m a firm believer that the best lessons are the ones you learn from yourself — from mining your own past mistakes, windfalls, and everything in between for useful patterns that can be replicated or avoided. With this in mind, we asked some of our favorite voices in the comms world to turn their gazes inwards and reflect on what’s been sticking with them about the past year.
So, to close out 2024, we present to you: 24 lessons from 24 comms pros. Reflective musings on how our industry is ever-changing, straight from the source.
We cherry-picked (!!) a healthy mix of agency longtimers, in-house folks, freelance strategists, and a few who have hopped between the three, and more!
The common themes of resilience, adaptability, and community give me hope that 2025 has the potential to be more abundant & expansive than we can even imagine.
Enough of me; let’s let the pros do the talking (in no particular order):
01
“This last year, I learned to go back to basics:
Audiences are not to be used, but wooed. Figure out who you want to engage with, find them where they are, and respect them with narratives intentionally made for them.
Wonder creates possibilities. In times of uncertainty and adversity, throw out the playbook and activate the human imagination.
Engagement is the goal of in-person gatherings, and that's enough. Sharing your brand value with a well-produced gathering gets people off devices and satisfies the yearning to use our full senses to learn something new with someone new.”
Christine Choi; Partner, M13
02
“Networking is still the key to unlocking opportunities. It opens doors to new job prospects, secures media coverage (especially in our super AI-driven world), cultivates valuable partnerships, fosters continuous learning, and drives business growth — and I'm sure so much more! In today’s world, networking makes everything possible and propels our profession forward.”
Cori Kendrick; Director of Public Relations, Superside
03
“I discovered that if you take the "s" off the end of communications, it creates a more powerful view of our role. What we do is communication, period. This could mean how Slack messages are written, how meetings are run, how you interview a top candidate for a role, how you speak to members of Congress or write the copy for an ad. This puts you in the seat of having strategic input across an organization — rather than being a siloed output provider.”
Sean Garrett; Founder, Mixing Board
04
“In 2024, I realized that our goal isn't just to achieve the widest outreach, but to focus on securing placements in publications that will truly impact the brand. This shift in mindset helped me manage expectations among various stakeholders and prioritize quality over quantity in our media strategy. It’s about making meaningful connections that align with our company’s goals.”
Melody Liu; Global Public Relations Manager, CASETiFY
05
“Podcast producers are the new media power players.”
Julie Binder; Strategic Communications Advisor, formerly SVP of Comms, Maven Clinic
06
“There's nothing less effective (or more cringe) than trying to tell the same story everyone else is telling, in the same corporate jargon. But that's not to say that, as comms professionals, we should be avoiding the hyper-relevant cultural stories that surround and shape us. Instead, it's about saying the quiet part out loud. It's about using the surprising, poetic turns of phrase that make readers do a double take and think deeper for themselves. This is something my late boss, Alain Sylvain, taught me time and time again. But this year, it's become all the more important — it's the advice I live by as my career continues on after his passing.”
Jillian Rosen; Senior Director of Marketing & Communication, SYLVAIN
07
“Marketing without cultural competency is like speaking without listening. If you’re not investing in understanding your audience’s lived experiences, you’re not truly communicating. In 2024, I was reminded that inclusive marketing isn’t a static checklist — it’s an evolving journey with your audiences. Meeting people where they are demands curiosity, cultural competency, and constant iteration. Woke wars, DEI rollbacks, and the election outcome don’t change one truth: inclusion is the future of impactful communication.”
Mariam Shahab; Founder, Chatterbox Consulting
08
“In 2024, we saw more inbound interest than ever from fellow comms professionals eager to pitch Substackers their news or launch a Substack for their brand or founder. As the media space becomes increasingly fragmented, people are seeking relevant, authentic news on their own terms, and the direct, trusted relationships that independent writers and creators have cultivated with their audiences have become more valuable than ever. The smartest communicators are recognizing the need to adjust their strategies to meet audiences where they are.”
Helen Tobin; Head of Communications, Substack
09
“Trendjacking is dead! Rather than reactively hopping on trends, brands and leaders should be creating them.”
Jordan Helterbrand; Senior Comms Manager, Daly
10
“You don't need a massive budget to be culturally relevant — you just need speed and conviction. When Jaguar launched their rebrand, WWF jumped in with clever creative that took hours, not weeks. When lookalikes were trending, Away entered the chat with simple, strategic gifting. And at Found, our highest-performing social this year was written and approved in under three hours, and our highest volume press press cycle came from news-jacking we drafted while boarding a plane. 2024 affirmed that when you're clear on your purpose and your values, you can have the confidence to move when the moment hits.”
Cassi Gritmacher; Head of Communications, Found
11
“My biggest lesson is that community means more than following. Whether you're a brand or creator, focusing on community first will always lead you to the end goal without even trying. If you make decisions with their best interest in mind, you'll be surprised how they will show up to support you when it matters most (cough cough, sales & conversions).”
Sonia Elyss; Founder, Lipservice World
12
“One lesson I learned this year was how to manage stress while juggling multiple campaigns and clients. I learned how to better prioritize tasks and use my time wisely, while also saving space for myself to decompress and plan my next moves.”
Tia Indigo; Public Relations Specialist, 2nd STREET USA
13
“I'm convinced now more than ever that PR is about the power of building community and building bridges between worlds. Coverage will always be critical, and something our agency focuses on, but the impact of partnering aligned communities (or communities that should be aligned and don't yet know it) is table stakes for brands and missions. By extension, we help these communities engage further online — be it on Substacks, social media, podcasts, and coverage — but the desire to be in person is making a comeback. Or perhaps that's just what I hope for the world these days, so it's what I'm devoting time, resources and energy to.”
Erin Allweiss; Co-Founder, No. 29
14
“In the ever-evolving world of communications, 2024 reinforced a powerful truth: audiences and press alike gravitate toward brands, public figures, and companies that prioritize authenticity, reliability, and genuine connection. From engaging with cultural events like the Paris Olympics to viral trends like "Brat Summer," this year demonstrated that audiences value thoughtful, culturally relevant engagement over traditional, one-dimensional messaging. The biggest takeaway? Success lies in crafting and clearly speaking to campaigns, product launches, and activations that feel intentional, human, and deeply connected to the cultural pulse.”
Charlotte Whalen; Comms Manager, Daly
15
“My biggest communications learning in 2024 has been the power that vulnerability and active listening plays in building trust. By leading with openness, showing my humanity, experience, and imperfection in conversation, and practicing the simple task of repeating what I have just heard, I’ve been able to strengthen my relationships and create space for deeper, more meaningful connections with the people I work with. In an increasingly transactional world, this approach has proven invaluable for fostering real relationships that are mutually beneficial.”
Jenny Nguyen; Founder, Hello Human
16
“2024 taught me the power of doing less, with intention. There's a time and a place for reacting to trends and the news cycle, but I'm interested in the impact that comes from carving out a distinct, authentic space for my clients. In 2025, I’m shifting from being a reactive force to a strategic alchemist (iykyk) —focused on creating opportunities for clients to define their own voice and influence on their own terms.”
Laci Helfrich; Comms Associate, Daly
17
“With uncertain economic conditions, a constantly-changing digital advertising landscape, and an election,2024 was the year we nailed flexible planning. We set goals and budgets for the year, but revisited them quarterly. We tried new strategies and methods, but set clear definitions for success — and pivoted when we weren't seeing results within our set time period.”
Jessica Hann; CMO, Homebody
18
“2024 was a great reminder that learning can be fun, and that it's such a critical part of what we do as communicators. It's been four years since ‘unprecedented’ became part of the 'too often used' category of vernacular, and yet each week seems to bring a new set of challenges to address — and learn from.”
Desirée Vodounon; Director, Milltown Partners
19
“Strong relationships in comms are worth their weight in gold! This year brought with it an exciting career transition for me, and every opportunity or big idea that’s come my way has been the direct result of years-long relationships rooted in authenticity. Don’t wait to connect or reconnect with the brilliant folks in this industry — it pays off in unexpected ways that keep you sharp, energized, and at the top of your game.”
Jordan Bresler; Comms Director, Daly
20
“This year, I figured out how to effectively use AI to repurpose content, which saved me tons of time. I could turn a blog post into a press release, then strip it down to news bullets for a reporter, and finally reshape it into social media posts for the CEO. Hours of work, boiled down to seconds. It’s now a daily part of how I work.”
Emilie Gerber; Founder, Six Eastern
21
“2024 was the year I officially became a newsletter person. From mainstream pubs to independent Substacks, newsletters became my window into what was happening online (goodbye increasingly inflammatory posts on X). Most exciting? Seeing them break through to my group chats. Case in point: Delia Cai’s brilliant Hate Read series, which earned a feature in the NYT. As both media and audiences continue to splinter, don’t sleep on the power of the mighty newsletter.”
Evan Bonnstetter; Communications Consultant, formerly Director of Communications, Tinder
22
“This year our industry saw diverse content formats such as newsletters, podcasts, and live video thrive. Heading into 2025, my biggest learning is to continue leaning into those varied content consumption preferences, and staying ahead of the curve, knowing that these digital mediums are essential.”
Ashley Omage; Senior Comms Manager, Daly
23
”We’ve observed that it’s become more and more important for brands to take a stand on socially relevant issues. A great example of this is the enthusiastic reactions from our community in response to our Anti-Statement on Black Friday. On this day of discount frenzy and overconsumption, FREITAG completely shut down our stores— online and offline — and redirected all visitors to our free bag exchange platform S.W.A.P. (Shopping Without Any Payment) and organized swap events in our store. The reactions showed us that with a statement like this, we can truly inspire our existing community, and maybe even beyond.”
Elisabeth Isenegger (PR Lead) & Lena Fisler (Communications + Collaboration); FREITAG
24
“In 2024, I learned that the most powerful way to build lasting company narratives isn't through polished corporate messaging, but through intentionally cultivating specific 'lore' - those sticky, memorable stories and quirks that make your organization distinct. The best company stories have clear quests, memorable characters, and unique language that naturally filters for true believers while turning away those who won't thrive in your culture. Generic 'making an impact' messaging might sound safe, but it's the spiky, specific details that actually stick.”
Cameron Langford; Founder and CEO, First Principles Communications
~~~
The Cherry on Top: We shared 24 ideas in honor of ‘24 – but given that it’s almost ‘25, here’s a bonus 25th reflective lesson from me (Ally): Embracing uncertainty and getting comfortable with productive discomfort is the best thing you can do – as a comms pro, as a business leader, as a person. Let your ideas about things change, but always stay true to your values.
Really enjoyed this reflection especially the reminder that building real community and staying authentic always wins over chasing every trend. The rise of Substack and podcasts as go to media shows how much people crave direct, meaningful conversations. Curious, what’s one comms habit you’re leaving behind in 2024?