Communications agency Hero & Outlaw, founded by Marek Hanc, has won the Grand Prix as agency of the year at the Zlatý středník (Golden Semicolon) awards. The company, which was starting from scratch just a few years ago, now manages revenue of 114 million crowns and keeps growing.
Before going into business, Hanc spent seven years working as a political marketer for the ANO movement and played a significant role in making Andrej Babis Czechia's prime minister. He founded his own agency in 2018, and today it employs forty people.
Besides the top award, Hero & Outlaw picked up four more prizes for projects made for the Czech Insurance Association and the Czech Insurers' Bureau — including the Bouračka.cz website and the “National No Rush Day” campaign. The agency's trophy case also includes three Cannes Lions and the Grand Prix for project of the year at the 2022 Zlatý středník awards.
Hanc admits he runs the company like a professional sports team. “I don't think of the firm as a family — it's more like a top sports team. Everyone needs to know their role, strive to grow and play for the result together,” says the agency's founder. In 2024 the company's revenue exceeded a hundred million crowns for the first time, and in 2025 it reached 114 million.
Besides PR services, the agency is developing its own AI tools and recently launched a new line of business — advising brands on how large language models like ChatGPT see and describe them.
Marcela Tucnikova recently joined the company as managing director. According to her, with more than forty employees and dozens of clients, the main challenge is not to rely on a few standout specialists but to build a system in which every client gets the same high level of service regardless of which team works with them. “The ability to grow without diluting quality is one of the hardest disciplines in the agency business,” she says.