John Armstrong to Lead Integrated, Future-Focused Marketing Services Agency

ICF, a global consulting and services provider, announced the creation and launch of ICF Next, the convergence of ICF’s award-winning marketing, communications and associated technology businesses. ICF Next will be led by former executive of IBM iX, John Armstrong.

The ICF Next team will consist of over 1,700 creatives, communicators, strategists and technologists across more than a dozen offices in the US, Canada, Europe and India. Officially launching in early 2019, ICF Next supports a growing portfolio of public and private sector clients and has, collectively, earned some of the industry’s top honors for client work, products and services in its specialty areas.

“There is a natural convergence in the work we do across areas like communications, public relations, technology, loyalty, marketing and strategy,” said John Wasson, President of ICF. “ICF Next has been purpose-built to pay off on the benefits of an integrated model that enables our clients to more easily tap into a wider set of expertise, capabilities and resources as needs arise.”

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ICF Next’s teams have been frequently recognized with some of the industry’s highest honors, including:

• PR Week’s Outstanding Midsize Agency and the Holmes Report’s Specialist Agency of the Year;
• Adobe Marketing Cloud Partner of the Year for the Americas;
• The Center for Digital Government’s Federal Experience Award;
• Multiple Cannes Lions, Cannes Dolphins, Shorty, One Show, PR Week, and SABRE awards;
• More than 30 Effie Awards, the industry’s highest honor for effectiveness;
• A “leader” in customer loyalty solutions by Forrester Research Inc. in its report, The Forrester Wave: Customer Loyalty Solutions, Q3 2017; and
• A “strong performer” in Forrester’s report on digital experience providers, The Forrester Wave: Midsize Digital Experience Agencies, Q4 2018.

ICF Next also ranks by revenue as one of the top 100 government IT contractors, according to Washington Technology, and a top-15 global PR firm, according to PR Week.

ICF Next will support a full range of capabilities all grounded in behavioral insights, creative engagement and technology. The talent that makes up ICF Next will be comprised of teams that have grown within ICF organically, primarily focused on public sector clients, or through acquisition, including North America-based Olson Engage, Olson1to1, Olson Digital, and PulsePoint Group, Brussels-based ICF Mostra, and U.K.-based The Future Customer and We Are Vista.

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“ICF has been a Premier partner in the Adobe Solutions Partner Program for several years and we’re excited about the market opportunity with ICF Next,” said Jay Dettling, Vice President of Global Partners at Adobe. “The breadth of talent and expertise across ICF Next has clear potential to enhance Adobe’s delivery of customer experiences across loyalty, engagement and technical implementation.”

“We think ICF Next will be unique in the market,” said Armstrong, President of ICF Next. “A partner with deep specialization in critical areas from PR to platforms, and with experience in all stages of the lifecycle: capturing awareness, creating strong engagement, and driving retention and loyalty. We want to bring organizations closer to the people they serve with solutions that help our clients derive valuable outcomes more quickly from their marketing, communications and technology investments.”

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