Bully Pulpit International, a PR agency launched by Washington, D.C., strategists, has hired Mark Jones to run its nascent sports vertical.
Bully Pulpit announced Tuesday that it acquired Agado Communications, the boutique one-man operation that Jones launched in 2020. Jones will be managing director of sports, starting immediately.
The move comes amid increased overlap between sports, government and public policy. Jones began his career as a foreign policy advisor to Minnesota senator Mark Dayton, and his sports career has frequently straddled both worlds. That includes 10 years at the U.S. Olympic Committee, advising work for the International Olympic Committee and consulting for the International Cricket Council’s successful inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Sports don’t exist in a vacuum—they sit at the center of culture, politics, identity and values,” Jones said in an email. “The conversations that start on the field or in the arena often shape how we see the world beyond it. That’s why this moment matters. Our job is to help sports leaders not just react to culture but lead it.”
He declined to comment on the financial specifics on the transaction.
Bully Pulpit was founded in 2009 by Andrew Bleeker, who was the lead digital marketing strategist on both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. The group’s president, Ben LaBolt, was the national press secretary for Obama’s reelection campaign, and later served as White House communications director under Joe Biden. Bully Pulpit has existing sports clients—the NFL, PGA Tour and NCAA, among others—but had no one specifically leading the endeavors.
Jones spent a decade at the USOPC from 2010 to 2020, working with Team USA through five Olympic and Paralympic Games. Following his time at the USOPC he launched Agado, which means “action” or “narrative” in Esperanto—a name he says was chosen via a brainstorm session with a WhatsApp group called The Counsel, which consists of a handful of sports communications executives around the country. In addition to the IOC and ICC, Agado’s current and previous clients include the NWSL, PointsBet, Major League Lacrosse and FIFA. It has also worked with a number of Olympic sport national governing bodies, including USA Karate, USA Cricket and USA Weightlifting.
Bully Pulpit announced late last year that it was launching a sports service, done with the help of Patricof Co.’s Mark Patricof and TBurns Sports Group’s Terrence Burns, who served as outside senior advisors. The firm’s overall work brought in about $91 million in revenue last year, according to PR Week’s annual agency report.
