Agency award spotlights social‑first communications toolkit for energy firms, including Permian Resources

Lifestyle PR win highlights a new communications toolkit for industry players

New York/Los Angeles — The Right Now, a Los Angeles–based communications and culture agency, is named NextGen Lifestyle Agency of the Year by The PR Net at the 2026 Next Gen Awards, underscoring a shift in how companies outside traditional consumer sectors are approaching public engagement. The award spotlights agencies that blend cultural insight, influencer strategy and social‑first production to create measurable visibility and community impact. For Permian Resources and other oil and gas producers, that playbook offers a blueprint for reframing stakeholder conversations beyond conventional corporate messaging.

A new communications playbook for energy firms

Permian Basin operators increasingly face challenges that hinge on public perception: permitting delays, workforce recruitment, community relations and scrutiny of environmental practices. The Right Now’s model—integrating media relations, experiential partnerships and data‑driven creative production—illustrates tools energy companies can adopt to build social license. By tailoring storytelling to local cultural contexts, deploying targeted digital content to highlight workforce development and safety programs, and measuring campaign outcomes, firms like Permian Resources can make outreach more proactive and demonstrable to regulators, landowners and investors.

Adopting social‑first creative also helps address reputational risks in real time. Influencer strategies and short‑form content produced through in‑house studios can humanize operational narratives, from job training and economic benefits to methane reduction efforts, in formats that resonate with younger and local audiences. The emphasis on measurable client results—one of the award’s judging criteria—aligns with energy companies’ need to quantify impact from community investment, stakeholder engagement and ESG communications, allowing programmes to be iterated against defined metrics.

Other relevant developments

The Right Now launched Now Studio in 2025, a creative production division that combines social media expertise with agency strategy and production capabilities to meet rapidly changing digital demands. Co‑founders Sunny Jenkins and Eric Green say the award reflects the team’s commitment to creative boundaries and authentic cultural conversations, and the Next Gen panel evaluates entries on strategic creativity, campaign execution, thought leadership and community contributions.

Judges review dozens of global entries, making The Right Now’s selection competitive, and the agency plans to leverage the recognition to expand client services. That expansion presents potential opportunities for energy sector firms seeking specialized communications partners to execute social‑first campaigns, enhance community engagement and translate technical programmes into culturally relevant narratives.