The team behind Weber Shandwick Australia has announced VOCAL, a new earned-first communications agency.
As AI changes how information is discovered and decisions are made, VOCAL believes brands can no longer rely on awareness alone. The new agency says brands need to earn authority by becoming sources that people trust, journalists quote and AI systems reference.
To help clients measure that impact, VOCAL has developed the Earned Authority Index, a framework that tracks how discoverable, trusted and influential a brand is with both people and AI.
VOCAL combines strategic counsel, earned media, creative campaigns and AI-enabled methodologies, with clients working directly with specialists. The agency uses AI to remove repetitive work to give its practitioners more time to develop ideas, build relationships and solve business problems.
Angela Malkin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: "For decades, communications has been about earning attention. Today, it's about Earning Authority.
"The fundamentals haven't changed. Great ideas, trusted relationships and independent credibility still influence decisions. What has changed is how people find information.
"People search differently. Journalists work differently. AI is becoming another gateway to information. Brands need to become trusted sources across all of them, and that's why we built VOCAL."
Jami Gandha, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: "Clients are asking for experienced people who stay close to the work, understand their business and deliver measurable commercial impact.
We use AI to remove administration, not relationships. That gives our team more time to think strategically, create stronger ideas and focus on the work that makes the biggest difference for clients."
Joining Co-Founders Angela and Jami in VOCAL’s leadership team are Addie Freyne, Head of Strategy, who developed the agency’s proprietary methodologies including the Earned Authority Index and IDEAS Engine, and Client Director Akina Taniguchi.