The independent communications agency is offering three months of pro-bono publicity support to an Australian creative business or project as it prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Australian public relations agency Agent99 has launched a $20,000 Arts & Entertainment Accelerator Program, offering one creative business or project three months of free strategic publicity and communications support.

The initiative is designed to assist Australia’s arts and entertainment sector at a time when rising operating costs and tightening household budgets are placing increasing pressure on festivals, live events, theatre productions and other creative enterprises.

The program is open to a broad range of applicants, including artists, festivals, theatre companies, musicals, live events, cultural experiences, games, toy brands and other entertainment businesses.

The successful applicant will receive $20,000 worth of PR strategy and execution, equivalent to three months of consultancy from the Agent99 team.

Depending on the needs of the winning business, the support could include media relations, talent profiling, media training, event and launch publicity, creator engagement, partnerships and social media content.

The announcement comes as Agent99 prepares to mark its 20th anniversary in 2027, with the agency drawing on two decades of experience in the arts, entertainment and consumer sectors.

Agent99 founder and director Sharon Zeev Poole said the initiative was designed to help creative businesses overcome one of their biggest challenges: attracting attention in an increasingly competitive market.

“Some of our highlight work over the past 20 years has been in this space,” Zeev Poole said.

“We’ve helped launch everything from Winning Moves MONOPOLY products and Kids Play Festival at The Pavillion to SBS’s Memory Bites show with Matt Moran, film festivals and other entertainment-led campaigns.”

Zeev Poole said that while a strong creative concept was essential, effective publicity could make the difference between a promising project and a commercial success.

“A great idea is only part of the equation. You still need to give people a reason to notice it, talk about it, buy a ticket, tune in or pick it off the shelf,” she said.

“We know what smart, targeted PR can do for a business, so we want to put that experience behind one ambitious arts or entertainment brand that could genuinely benefit from it.”

The Arts & Entertainment Accelerator follows Agent99’s inaugural Food & Beverage Accelerator Program, which supported 40Res, a premium restaurant in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

According to Zeev Poole, the success of that initiative demonstrated the potential impact of providing emerging businesses with professional communications support.

“Our inaugural Food & Beverage Accelerator Program showed us how much impact this type of support can have when you create the right partnership,” she said.

“Our last winner 40Res, a premium restaurant in Surry Hills, has gone from strength to strength since we launched them, which is such a delight to witness.”

The new program will focus on businesses and projects with clearly defined communications challenges and the potential to achieve measurable results.

“For this new program, whether it’s helping a festival sell more tickets, building the profile of an artist, launching a new game or getting a production in front of the right audiences, we’re looking for an idea where we can make a measurable difference,” Zeev Poole said.

To be eligible, applicants must operate in the arts or entertainment sector, demonstrate a clear business or communications challenge and must not have engaged a PR agency within the previous two years.

Applications are now open and close on December 1, 2026. The successful applicant will begin the three-month program in mid-January 2027.

Applications for Agent99’s Arts & Entertainment Accelerator Program close December 1, 2026.

For eligibility details and to apply, visit the Agent99 Arts & Entertainment Accelerator Program website.