Welcome to Spencer-mckinney

Your Communications Partner For High-Stakes Moments in the Generative AI Era​

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The Roller Coaster of the Century is Generative AI.

It's the ultimate ride: fast, thrilling and unpredictable. As a leader, you know you can't sit in the back, close your eyes, and expect this ride to be like the others. For your brand to be trusted and remembered—by both humans and machines —you need an EngineReady communications strategy and a front-row seat.
Spencer-McKinney is your partner.

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The World's Most Admired Companies Don't Just Tell Great Stories - They Live Them.

Sarah McKinney, Founder

Who We Are

Spencer-McKinney is a Boston-based communications consultancy founded on the belief that outsized success and brand loyalty happen to companies and leaders who consistently live the values they communicate.

Led by Sarah McKinney, a senior communications strategist with 20+ years of battle-tested experience across sectors such as consumer technology, retail, enterprise software, and mobility, the firm helps brands and executives show up powerfully—not just in the media, but in the algorithms that shape perception.

"In a world overwhelmed by content and noise, it’s not about saying more—it’s about showing up with clarity, credibility, and conviction, everywhere your reputation is shaped and shared — in headlines, memes, search, investor decks, and every Alexa-device in between."
Sarah McKinney
Founder

Our Approach Sets Us Apart

EngineReady™ is Spencer-McKinney’s proprietary communications framework purpose-built to make sure a company’s brand, CEO and message is findable, quotable, and credible across generative platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok.

Featured Services

Whether you’re navigating change, preparing for growth, or building brand equity from the inside out, Spencer-McKinney provides flexible, high-impact communications that scale and pivot with you.

Fractional Communications Leadership

Executive Visibility & Thought Leadership

Internal Communications & Employee Engagement

Crisis & Reputation Management

Media Relations & Brand PR

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is EngineReady™?

EngineReady™ is a first-of-its-kind communications framework developed by Spencer-McKinney. It helps brands and executives become visible, quotable, and trusted in generative engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok. Unlike SEO, it’s designed for how AI summarizes, scores, and ranks authority—not just how websites rank in Google.

SEO is built for search engines. Traditional PR is built for headlines. EngineReady™ is built for generative engines. It uses structured storytelling, earned media signals, and platform-specific adaptation to ensure your brand is represented accurately and prominently in AI-generated answers.

EngineReady™ is built for any brand, executive, or communications team that cares about how they show up in the world—whether that’s in a boardroom, a search bar, or an AI-generated answer. It’s not just for IPOs or crises. It’s strategic hygiene for the generative era: a way to ensure your message is discoverable, quotable, and trusted—by both people and platforms.

Spencer-McKinney structures communications to align with how generative AI platforms rank and summarize information. Below are examples of the types of platforms Spencer-McKinney helps companies and brands connect with:

  • ChatGPT: Wikipedia-adjacent citations and clean, attributed bios

  • Gemini: Schema, topic consistency, and Google-owned crosslinks

  • Perplexity: Citation-friendly headlines and structured HTML

  • Grok (X AI): Threaded thought leadership and media links

  • Alexa / Voice: Voice-friendly phrasing and answer summaries

Let’s Make AI Work for You

Because perception isn’t just earned in headlines. It’s earned in how AI tells your story— from headlines to hashtags—and every chatbot in between.