annual pr rankings issue

M a y 2 0 1 4 | w w w . o d w y e r p r . c o m

Communications & new media May 2014 I Vol. 28 No. 5

ANNUAL PR RANKINGS ISSUE

2014

PR FIRMS RANKED BY NET FEES, ANNUAL GROWTH,GEOGRAPHY, SPECIALTY AND MORE.

More than

130 firms

ranked!TECHNOLOGY PR

RANKINGS

HEALTHCARE PRRANKINGS

FINANCIAL PRRANKINGS

PLUS:

PG. 16

GOSSIP COLUMNISTS TELL ALL

EDITORS WEIGH IN ON DIGITAL JOURNALISM, PR

SOCIAL MEDIA SKILLS THAT BEAT THE COMPETITION

WHY NEWSPAPERS WILL SURVIVE

PG. 24

PG. 28

hhh hhh

TECH PR TAKES TOP BILLING

FINANCE FIRMS REBOUNDFROM ROUGH YEAR

REPORT: FIRST-QUARTER NUMBERS ARE IN FOR AD CONGLOMS

PROFILES OF TOP INDEPENDENT PR FIRMS

h

More than

130 firms

ranked!

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Maymagazine_Layout 1 4/30/14 6:14 PM

www.odwyerpr.comDaily, up-to-the minute PR news

Vol. 28, No. 5May 2014

ADVERTISERS

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44

RANKINGS OF SPECIALTYPRACTICE PR FIRMS

RANKINGS OF TOP U.S.INDEPENDENT PR FIRMS

January: Crisis Comms. / Buyer’s GuideFebruary: Environmental & P.A.

March: Food & BeverageApril: Broadcast & Social Media

May: PR Firm RankingsJune: Global & Multicultural

July: Travel & TourismAugust: Financial/I.R.

September: Beauty & FashionOctober: Healthcare & Medical

November: High-TechDecember: Entertainment & Sports

EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2014

O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 679-2471; fax: (212) 683-2750. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. O’Dwyer’s PR Report ISSN: 1931-8316. Published monthly.

Abernathy MacGregor...........................5Bob Thomas Productions....................30Catapult PR-IR....................................57Cerrell Associates................................47Chandler Chicco..................................23Cooney/Waters....................................25The Dilenschneider Group...................69Edelman.........................................41/42Fahlgren Mortine.................................37Feintuch Communications...................52Finn Partners.......................................75

Gorkana.........................INSIDE COVERGregory FCA.......................................31GYMR..................................................17ICR......................................................27J Public Relations................................35Jackson Spalding................................15Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock..........19Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher.....63Kaplow...................................................7Kellen Communications.......................11Log-On................................................79

Lou Hammond & Assocs.....................49Makovsky...............................................9Marketing Maven.................................55NIRI.....................................................29NYU.......................................................3Omega World Travel............................81Peppercomm.......................................33Pierpont...............................................51Podesta Group....................................61Rubenstein PR.................BACK COVERRF|Binder............................................39

Ruder Finn...........................................77Sachs Media Group.............................53SGP Worldwide...................................67Shoot Publicity.......................................8Sloane & Company..............................73Stanton PR + Marketing.......................21Strauss Media Strategies.....................13TV Access............................................80W20 Group.....................................20/21

COLUMNSPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Fraser Seitel

OPINIONJack O’Dwyer

PR BUYER’S GUIDE

808290

O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OF SPECIALTY PR PRACTICES

MAJORITY OF TOP PR FIRMSGAINED DOUBLE DIGITSIndependent PR firms showed

strong growth in 2013, according toO’Dwyer’s 2014 rankings of PR firms.

58WASHINGTON REPORT88PROFILES OF TOP RANKED U.S.INDEPENDENT PR FIRMS

O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OF TOP FIRMS BY REGION/GEOGRAPHY

O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OFTOP PERCENTAGE GAINERS

COMPETITION THROUGHSOCIAL INTELLIGENCESocial media is the greatest hot-

button topic for marketers today, yet issuesremain in proving social media’s value.

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RANKINGS OF TOP RANKEDU.S. INDEPENDENT PR FIRMS44

48

TALK TO GOSSIP COLUM-NISTS, DON’T STIFF THEMGossip columnists spoke at anApril panel sponsored by the Center forCommunication in New York.

46

EDITORIALWhen defending the fringe backfires. 6

PR PROS TOP TARGETS OFCYBER ATTACKSAccording to an Internet SecurityThreat report, PR people are top targets ofcybercrooks.

8STRONG Q1 PR GROWTH ATIPG, AS WPP, OMC INCH UPInterpublic’s PR operations out-paced WPP, Omnicom and Publicis, but allsaw first quarter growth.

10FORBES, HUFFPOST WEIGHIN ON WEB JOURNALISMMedia pros talked at Gibbs &Soell’s annual “Welcome to the GlobalStreet Fight” event.

12

O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OFTECHNOLOGY PR FIRMS

RETAINING SPOTLIGHT, DIGITAL FUELS TECH GAINSTech, now PR’s most pervasivesector, showed continued growth in2013, buoyed in part by digital.

O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OFHEALTHCARE PR FIRMS

HEALTHCARE TRANSI-TIONS TO WELLNESSHealthcare PR firms are reposi-tioning from an industry for the sick to a“well-being society.”

24

INTERACTIVE ADS TOP TVREVENUES FOR FIRST TIMEIn 2013, interactive ad revenues sur-passed annual broadcast television salesfor the first time.

8

O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OFFINANCIAL PR FIRMS 28

WEB JOURNALISM WON’TREPLACE LOST JOBSTens of thousands of newspaper

jobs have been lost, but online journalismwill salvage some jobs.

FINANCIAL FIRMS SEEKREBOUND FROM 2013Financial firms closed the bookson a mixed 2013, but look ahead for solidgains in 2014.

30

52CRISIS HITS HOME: WHEN PRGETS PERSONALHow many PR pros experienced with

crisis have a plan ready in the event that a per-sonal crisis happens to them?

54TRUE BRAND ADVOCATES DOMORE THAN TAKE ORDERSEngaging audiences is a matter of

taking the time to put yourself in their shoes.

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RANKINGS OF SPECIALTYPRACTICE PR FIRMS

RANKINGS OF TOP U.S.INDEPENDENT PR FIRMS


MAY 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM6

EDITORIAL

On defending the fringe, for your own benefit

If you’re going to pick a hero, you might want to do some research first. This April — here-by christened Wing-Nut Appreciation Month — the U.S. media showcased several polar-izing personalities whose actions drew ire from the public. Mysteriously, several talking

heads raced to defend these loons as a means of bolstering their own agendas, and big sur-prise, the tactic backfired.

First we have Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who, since 1994, has been parking his cat-tle on federal land without paying the required grazing fees, and is now engaged in a stand-off with the Bureau of Land Management for refusing to vacate livestock from land he does-n’t own. Fox News pundits like Sean Hannity latched onto the Bundy story as ipso factoproof of the government’s eminent domain overreach, and in the weeks that followed therenegade rancher and his wagon train of wearying frontiersman clichés served as a leitmotiffor the network’s prefabricated political narrative. Constant coverage of the event was soeffective it riled scores of heavily-armed, camouflaged militiamen who convened at the wel-fare cowboy’s ranch, because they somehow believe a potential standoff with federal agentsmakes them paragons of “patriotism.”

Fast-forward a few weeks, when Bundy went on a videotaped tear regarding AfricanAmericans, whom he posited may have been “better off as slaves, picking cotton.” Theseremarks put Fox’s story line on the skids, and drew wide condemnation from everyone onthe conservative spectrum from Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly to Rick Perry. Fox hostHoward Kurtz blasted his network for foolishly giving Bundy so much airtime. Hannity wasnow in the embarrassing position of repudiating a man whom he used as a political bullhorn.The lesson: walking back a narrative is a mortifying enterprise. A better idea would havebeen not to take stock in (obvious) red flags in the first place.

Then there was the case of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who, during arecorded argument with his mistress, stated that he doesn’t want her “associating with blackpeople” (including basketball luminaries like Magic Johnson) or bringing them to Clippersgames. The slumlord cum sports franchise owner was universally condemned for theremarks and publicly disowned by just about everyone: Johnson called for his resignation; adozen sponsors (including Red Bull, CarMax, Sprint and Corona) pulled their Clippers spon-sorships; and even President Obama took the time to blast Sterling’s “ignorant” comments.On April 29, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver officially announced that Sterling would befined $2.5 million and barred for life from attending NBA games.

Leave it to a few flapping wattles from the wrong side of the turkey farm to take a bad sit-uation and, impossibly, make it about themselves. Donald Trump went on “Fox & Friends”to claim Sterling’s mistress — a “very bad girlfriend” — had “set up” the Clippers owner.Conspiracy nut Alex Jones, predictably, saw this as part of a larger conspiracy. Conservativecommentator William Kristol went on “This Week” to complain that “everyone goes hyster-ical over two or three sentences,” and that “deeds” take precedence over words.

Finally, we have Edward Snowden, who became a household name — and a hero to many— for leaking tens of thousands of highly classified documents exposing the NationalSecurity Agency’s surveillance tactics. Months after finding asylum in Russia, it appears theformer Booz Allen contractor has now found gainful employment as a lapdog for VladimirPutin, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. Putin used a highly publicized,four-hour April Q-and-A session with Snowden via Russian TV network RT to laud Russia’sprotocol of citizen data collection as laissez-faire in comparison to the U.S.’s brand ofoppressive overreach. Putin even referred to Snowden as “a former agent” and “a spy.” Inan April 18 Guardian editorial defending his softball interview, Snowden congratulated him-self for broaching a dialogue with Putin on spying, a claim that probably fell on deaf earsfrom stateside supporters who have seen their favorite privacy advocate being reduced topeddling Russian agitprop (there’s now even an online faction called “Snowden-Putintruthers,” who believe the Russian government was behind Snowden the entire time).

In case you’re not seeing the pattern here: each of our three April fools have walked, facefirst, into their own stereotypes. The headlines might have been unexpected, but they wereinevitable. Today’s media cycle demands that we regularly throw someone into the volcanoto appease the outrage gods, but that doesn’t mean you have to jump in with them. Whensomeone you don’t know seems hell-bent on destroying their reputation, leave them to theirown devices. Don’t try to pony a ride on their story for a cheap quote, lest you find yourselfwith Hannity on an apology tour of your own. When defending the loons of the world back-fires — and it will — you will have no one to blame but yourself. £

— Jon Gingerich

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJack O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERJohn O’[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERKevin [email protected]

EDITORJon [email protected]

SENIOR EDITORGreg [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSFraser SeitelRichard Goldstein

Chandler Klang SmithEditorial Assistant & Research

ADVERTISING SALESSharlene SpinglerAssociate Publisher & [email protected]

John O’DwyerAdvertising Sales [email protected]

O’Dwyer’s is published monthly for $60.00 a year ($7.00 for a single issue) by the J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc., 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.(212) 679-2471Fax (212) 683-2750.

© Copyright 2014J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc.

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www.odwyerpr.com 4 breaking news,commentary, useful databases and more.

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Apowerful 17% surge during thelast quarter of the year, put inter-active spending on top.

“The news that interactive has outper-formed broadcast television should comeas no surprise,” said Randall Rothenberg,President and CEO of IAB. “It speaks tothe power that digital screens have in

reaching and engaging audiences.”He noted the “staggering growth of

mobile is clearly a direct response to howsmaller digital screens play an integralrole in consumers’ lives throughout theday, as well as their critical importance tocross-screen experiences.”

Mobile ads jumped 110% for 2013 tohit the $7.1 billion mark, while digital

video climbed 19% to $2.8 billion, searchadvanced nine percent to $16.9 billionand display rose seven percent to $12.8billion.

PwC conducted the survey. PartnerDavid Silverman said the triple-digitsurge in ad revenues for mobile showsconsumers are viewing information on-the-go. £

Interactive ads top TV revenues for first timeInteractive advertising revenues for the first time surpassed annual broadcast television salesin 2013, powered by a 6.7% rise to a record $42.8 billion, according to the InteractiveAdvertising Bureau. Broadcasters chalked up $40.1 billion in revenues during the past year.

By Kevin McCauley


MEDIA NOTES

PR pros top targets of cyber attacks

Cybercriminals target those peoplebecause they are viewed as step-ping-stones toward top business

executives, high-level government offi-cials and Hollywood A-listers, saidKevin Haley, Symantec’s director forsecurity response.

Symantec’s survey finds that crimi-nals lurk in the shadows for manymonths before waiting to strike in aneffort to pull off a jackpot heist, ratherthan a series of quick-hit smallerstrikes. “One mega breach is worth 50smaller attacks,” noted Haley.

There was a 62% increase in thenumber of data breaches in 2013 com-pared to the previous year. Thoseattacks resulted in more than 550 mil-lion identities exposed.

Symantec recommends companiesfocus data protection measures oninformation, rather than a device ordata center.

Symantec recommends companieseducate staffers and implement securityinfrastructures with data loss preven-tion, encryption, robust authenticationand defense measures including reputa-tion-based technologies.

For consumers, Symantec saysunique passwords should be created toeach site they visit.

Edelman handles Symantec. £

PR people and administrative assistants are top targets ofcybercrooks, according to the latest Internet Security ThreatReport issued by Symantec, the electronic information pro-tection company in Silicon Valley. By Kevin McCauley

In the April 2014 edition of O’Dwyer’s, we mistakenlyclassified KickedUp Media Group as a social media firm.They are a video production company.

The recent IAB/PwC Internet Ad Revenuereport shows the growth of interactive adsin comparison to annual revenues for printand broadcast advertising.



REPORT

IPG cuts Q1 losses, shows big gains IPG slashed its first quarter losses to $22

million and revealed double-digit gains.Interpublic in April announced a $22.4

million first-quarter loss, which was downfrom the $58.5 million year ago deficit.

Revenues rose 6.1% to $1.6 billion asCEO Michael Roth reported “strength” inthe U.S. and “significant growth” in LatinAmerica and Asia.

He said IPG’s ability to “deliver cus-tomized integrated services offerings isincreasingly becoming a differentiator forus, as are our digital capabilities.”

The ad conglom’s constituency manage-ment group (Weber Shandwick,GolinHarris, DeVries, Jack Morton,FutureBrand and Octogon) chalked up6.6% revenue growth to $321.8 million.Organic sales rose 5.7%.

Weber Shandwick CEO Andy Polanskytold O’Dwyer’s IPG’s PR operation is off toa very strong start, showing double-digitgains in both reported and organic rev-enues.

He said North America, Asia, Brazil andU.K showed solid gains. Consumer health,technology, corporate and digital mediapractices showed strong growth during theperiod.

IPG wrapped up the quarter with $776.6million in cash/marketable securities andtotal debt of $1.7 billion.

Publicis revenue growth improvesPublicis Groupe reported first quarter

2014 revenue climbed 2.2% to around $2.2billion, following a rocky fourth quarter.

Chairman and CEO Maurice Levy saidPublicis rebounded from the end of 2013 topost organic growth of 3.3% on the strengthof digital, its US operations, and as emerg-ing markets and Europe showed signs oflife.

Levy said the blockbuster merger withOmnicom is “moving forward even thoughprogress is slower than anticipated.” Thedeal is still expected to close in the thirdquarter, although antitrust clearance is stillunder review in China.

North American revenue (half ofPublicis’ income comes from the US) saworganic growth of 4.3% to just over $1 bil-

lion on “renewed vigor” of the US econo-my.

On the PR front, key wins forMSLGroup during Q1 included Brazilaccounts Amplificação and Trident.Publicis also acquired Washington-basedQorvis during the period.

Publicis debt is €790 million against€761 million in cash and securities.

Levy said he expects growth topping 4%for the year.

Omnicom PR units tick up 1.2% in Q1Omnicom reported first quarter 2014 PR

revenues grew 1.2% to $325.4 million onan organic basis, outpaced by advertising(+4.9%, $1.7 billion) and customer rela-tionship management (+4.2%, $1.2 bil-lion).

Revenue across all units in Q1 rose 3%to $3.5 billion, including 4% in the US tonearly $1.9 billion and 1.9% international-ly to $1.6 billion. Net income was essen-tially flat — $205.5 million, comparedwith $205.1 million a year earlier.

OMC, which owns PR firms likeKetchum, Porter Novelli andFleishmanHillard, took $7 million in pre-tax charges during the period related to itsmerger with Publicis Groupe.

OMC debt tops $4 billion againstcash/investments of $2 billion.

Omnicom Group CEO John Wren col-lected $18 million in 2013 total compensa-tion, showing a healthy 21.7% rise duringthe period in which the ad/PR conglomposted flat revenues and net incomes of$14.6 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively.

Wren, who earns a $1 million salary, reg-istered a 19.8% rise to $10.1 million incash payments under OMC’s non-equityincentive plan bonus scheme.

According to OMC’s proxy statement,the committee rewarded Wren for driving“solid financial growth” during the pastyear.

The CEO “developed the company’sacquisition strategy and identified andinvested in high-performing businesses,including those in rapidly growing mar-kets; these initiatives will enable the com-pany to meet the future marketing require-ments of its global clients more effective-ly,” said the proxy.

Roubos has been an OMC Director since1986.

PR climbs at WPP First quarter2014 PR and public affairs revenue at WPPfirms inched up 1.9% to $352 million on alike-for-like basis as revenue overall at themarketing conglomerate rose 7% to top$4.2 billion.

That 7% growth ledrivals Interpublic(6.6%), Publicis(2.2%) and Omnicom(3%).

WPP said thePR/PA sector contin-ued an improvementseen in the fourthquarter of 2013 withall regions exceptLatin America and theMiddle East growingin Q1. The UK, AsiaPacific and Africawere top performers.

WPP, owner ofmajor PR operationslike Ogilvy PR,Burson-Marstellerand Hill+KnowltonStrategies, reportedNorth America, theUK and its advertisingand media investmentmanagement operations showed particular-ly strong growth during the period.

While PR climbed 1.9%,advertising/media jumped 13% ($1.8 bil-lion), branding/identity/healthcare rose5.1% ($1.2 billion) and data investment0.9% ($939.6 billion).

WPP said personnel rose 1.1% to121,055. Debt is $4.1 billion against $1.3billion in cash.

Huntsworth profits slip 10.4%Huntsworth reported a 10.4% dip in

’13 operating profit to $34.6 million onflat revenues of $288.5 million, a per-formance CEO Peter Gummer saidreflects stepped up strategic investmentsand continued softness in the Europeanmarket.

Flagship Grayling showed a 26.8%drop in profit to $18.8 million, whileHuntsworth Health advanced 3.5% to $20million.

Financial unit Citigate and consumer-oriented Red enjoyed gains of 11.9% to$7.4 million and 19.2% to $5.2 million,respectively. £

Interpublic’s PR operations led by Weber Shandwick outpacedrivals WPP, Omnicom and Publicis, but all the major marketingconglomerates saw first quarter growth continue.

By Greg Hazley and Kevin McCauley

Omnicom CEOJohn Wren

Publicis GroupeChairman & CEO

Maurice Levy

Strong Q1 PR growth at IPG as WPP, OMC inch up



Readers are excited as ever to readand consume,” he said, “to see whatour editors have curated and see

what they want readers to know … Peopleappreciate the finite experience of a mag-azine with a beginning, middle and end.”But technology has introduced hypertar-geting and microtargeting to the ad realm,metrics that don’t translatewell to print media that haveto bridge that divide. “Thereis value in the messages inadvertising that goes with thecontent. The challenge is pro-viding metrics that you getfrom the web.”

“I still think print has aplace in the ecosystem,” saidJimmy Soni, managing editorof The Huffington Post whosaid he reads The New Yorker,GQ and The Economist,among print publications.“It’s a different reading expe-rience.”

Soni said the “journalism isdead” argument amid the riseof digital is answered by out-lets like Politico, Pro Publica, HuffPost,BuzzFeed and UpWorthy, all founded inthe last 10 years. “Many are generatingcontent that wouldn’t have otherwise beenproduced,” he said. Asked by G&SPresident/CEO Luke Lambert about thegripe that most new media get contentfrom “old media,” Soni said operationslike Politico and HuffPost spend “enor-mous amounts of money and time creatingstuff out of whole cloth.”

‘Net not a zero-sum game for readersSoni, who confessed that it’s not his job

to find a way to monetize the content hispublication produces, said social mediahas provided infinite potential for eye-balls, expanding readership and changingthe PR game.

He said the Internet has also made themedia ecosystem “less hostile” and moreopen to collaboration. “Partnerships arenow the coin of the realm,” he said. “Wework with BuzzFeed or UpWorthy as theireyeballs might become ours. It’s not a zerosum game on the Internet. … Most peoplein this room probably consume around 50news sources a day.”

“The era of the blind pitch is over,” hesaid, noting that he does not read unsolicit-ed email or pitches “unless you split theatom.” Soni said there are two key factorsto the PR realm right now. First: “Be sogood we can’t ignore you.” He pointed toJPMorgan Chase as an example of a com-pany that has attracted its share of nega-tive headlines, also garnering coverage for

its work with veterans. And second:“Recognize that you’re more in charge ofyour story than you’ve ever been.” Hecited Volkswagen’s viral ad featuring actorJean-Claude Van Damme as an exampleof company-produced content that gar-nered wide coverage. Another examplewas clothing retailer Gap’s empatheticresponse to racist graffiti on one of its adsthat sparked a “Thank you, Gap” cam-paign.

He said a company like Goldman Sachs,“a company we often go after,” works withHuffPost on their small business initia-tives, through paid content and advertising.

Forbes’ native ads, digital growthHoward said the magazine is the “front

door to our brand,” which also encom-passes digital and conference and events.“Who we profile on the cover is veryimportant to the business world,” he said.But the foundation for Forbes’ road to dig-ital credibility and growth came from sep-arating the magazine from its Internetpush.

Howard said in 2000-01 Tim Forbesspun out forbes.com as a separate entity

from the then-84-year-old magazine toallow breathing room “to figure it out forourselves.” He cited Forbes’ decision tobuy the content platform True/Slant in2010, which compensated writers by bothmonetary payment and via advertising andsponsorship revenues of their pages. Themove coincided with media job cuts thatleft a lot of writers out of work without a

platform on which to producecontent. Many embraced theTrue/Slant platform and provid-ed a wide range of professionalcontent to grow the site, which,Howard noted, is not a newssite but a forum for opinion andanalysis of news and issues.Forbes also in 2010 rolled out

its native ad platformBrandVoice, which affords sig-nificant control to advertisersproducing editorial for theForbes site. The posts are clear-ly marked as BrandVoice con-tent. Howard said advertisersare taught to use Forbes’ con-tent management system andpublish “just like editorialstaffers.” Advertisers get a

monthly site license that allows them anunlimited number of posts. The platformis expected to make up to 30% of Forbes’ad revenue by 2014.

HuffPost writers know audience dataSoni said the HuffPost’s success has

come in part because its staffers are asfocused on publishing as much as content.“Editors know data patterns, audiencedevelopment,” he said. “You can’t buryyour head in the sand about where youraudience is coming from.”

He called the Post “unapologetic” in itsapproach to journalism, which encom-passes news, humor and opinion, amongother tenets.

The HuffPost in 2012 became the firstdigital media outlet to win a Pulitzer Prizefor senior military correspondent DavidWood’s “Beyond the Battlefield” series onwounded veterans and their families. “Itsent a wakeup call to the industry that theInternet is not a dirty word,” said Soni,“that you can reach a large audience withquality content.”

Forbes, HuffPost weigh in on digital journalism, PRPrint magazines like Forbes don’t have a readership problem, they have an advertising problem,Forbes Media Chief Revenue Officer Mark Howard told Gibbs & Soell’s annual “Welcome to theGlobal Street Fight” event in New York on April 11. By Greg Hazley

Luke Lambert, President and CEO of Gibbs & Soell; Jimmy Soni,Managing Editor of The Huffington Post; and Mark Howard, ChiefRevenue Officer of Forbes Media.

Photos by Greg Hazley

REPORT

0Continued on next page


MAY 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 13

Forbes, HuffPost weigh in on digital journalism, PRDon’t call them “millennials”The “millennial” demographic coveted

by marketers and advertisers is a con-sumer force that will trump the BabyBoomers, but targeting the generationborn since the early 1980s requires a deft,engaging and authentic approach, saidEvan Shapiro, President of the cable net-work Pivot.

Shapiro, former President of IFC TVand Sundance Channel, leads a year-oldnetwork owned by Participant Media thatspecializes in reaching the millennial seg-ment, often with content — entertainmentand advertising — that is influenced orgenerated by its target audience.

Asked by an audience member howmarketers can get around complaints frommillennials that companies are panderingto them, Shapiro replied with step one:“Get rid of the ‘millennial’ term. It soundslike marketing. Call them Generation Y.”

Pivot, which has a significant web pres-ence and is in more than 45 million house-holds, affiliates with educational non-profits and has 15 studios on college cam-puses across the country. When an adver-tiser like Hyundai, for example, wants tocommission content for Pivot from thatcollege network, it issues an RFP throughPivot, which believes the content oradvertising (or mix of both) produced fos-ters deeper ties to viewers because it issourced through them.

Shapiro said that Cartoon Network’sAdult Swim is the top network for Gen Y,noting that ads on that network look likecontent from Adult Swim, itself. “TheSuper Bowl kept people watching througha bad game because those ads are justgood content,” he said of Seattle’sFebruary rout of the Denver Broncos.

Shapiro said the younger generationfavors a type of altruism over unabashedcapitalism and wants to know wherecompanies stand. He noted 90% of GenYers like when a brand talks about whatthey do, and 80% say they would takeless money to work for a responsiblecompany. “You have to think about howyour brand affects the world,” he said.“This generation is going to hold you toit. Nobody is perfect but we all do have toleave the place better or our brands willbe punished.” But that desire for respon-sibility in companies should not be con-fused with purity. He added: “They buyjunk food. They buy soda. They’re notsaints.”

The generation’s desire for more fromthe brands they use also applies to themedium of TV itself.

TV still most effectiveTelevision remains the “most powerful

medium on earth,” but it “has gone from

mass media to niche media,” saidShapiro. He noted a hit show like “All inthe Family” used to garner an audiencenorth of 67 million, while today JimmyFallon’s “Tonight Show” is a success ataround 3.3 million viewers per night and“The Colbert Report” is lauded at onemillion viewers. “MadMen” is culturallypowerful and widelyacclaimed, yet its pre-mier this monthlogged 2.3 millionviewers. While therelatively smaller fig-ures provide moresegmentation for mar-keters, the method ofreach has changed aswell. “It’s not purereach anymore,” hesaid. “It’s about brandengagement and intentto use [a product orservice]. They expectmore from TV andwants brands to stand for something.”

Robert Fronk, Executive VP ofCorporate Image and Strategy at Nielsen,in revealing the latest results of Gibbs &Soell’s study said that Gen Y brings animpatience and expectation of inclusionto its view of corporate leadership. “[Gen

Yers] want to become leaders morequickly, but see leadership as collectivewith a strong natural consensus … Noone is looking for companies to fix theworld’s problems as their corporate pur-pose.”

Pivot sees engaging the audience in thecontent productionprocess is key to thatcompany/brand con-nection and “open-source” content is themeans to that end.“For and byGeneration Y is a bigdeal to them,” saidShapiro. “A lot of ourdecisions involve theirfeedback.”

Shapiro, however,stressed the differencebetween user-generat-ed and open-sourcedcontent. User-generat-ed content is “cats ontrampolines,” he said,

while open-source still allows for chiefdecision makers while incorporating ideasof the collective. Where UG content ischaos, OS is collaborative.

He added: “Gen Y doesn’t necessarilyneed to make decisions, but they want tobe involved in the process.” £

Pivot President Evan Shapiro.



REPORT

In a year that saw Google Glass, iPhone5C and iPad Mini, NSA spying,Amazon drones, Apple vs. Samsung,

Microsoft’s Surface tablet, a shakeup atYahoo!, as well as the most Internet IPOssince 2000, PR agency acquisitions andsoaring revenues fueled work on behalfof digital clients.In an end-of-the-year wrap-up,

Edelman Chief Richard Edelman notedthe technology sector is now the topspender on PR, surpassing health andconsumer products. “This is true whetheryou are a large or small firm,” he said.Among the top gainers for tech firms,

W20 Group surged 165% to $14.3 mil-lion; MWW doubled its tech revenueover 2012 to $16.4 million; Zeno Groupleapt 82% to $10.5 million, andAllison+Partners rose 52% to $14.4 mil-lion. W20, which includes the healthcare

savvy WCG, Twist and W20 Ventures,landed a multimillion-dollar PR accountfrom BMC Software in 2013. Among keyhires, WCG brought in social businessguru Michael Brito from Edelman inNovember, and FleishmanHillard SeniorVP of Digital and Social Media AdamCohen in December to bolster its techpractice, based in Boston, and promotedDave Mihalovic to COO of its digitaloperations in July. New York-basedTwist, meanwhile, expanded to Austinand Atlanta, adding a consumer practiceto the tech-savvy operation. W20 alsoacquired European digital healthcare firmRefreshed Wellbeing in October. WCGworked PR for the troubled DNA kit mar-keter 23andMe, as well.

Lewis sees US strengthLewis PR, which acquired $9 million

tech firm Davies Murphy Group last year,was up overall by 26.6% and recorded$42.6 million of its $44.8 million in 2013revenue in tech, cracking the top-10 ofthe O’Dwyer’s rankings for the first time.The London-based, employee-ownedfirm said it is benefitting from invest-ments made during the global recessionand expects to break $60 million by Julyon the strength of digital and growth inAsia and the US, the latter being thesource of 48% of its revenue. New busi-ness from McAfee, SAS, VMware and

Spotify bolstered its performance lastyear. Looking ahead, the firm said itplans to create around 100 new jobs amidexpansion. “We’re seeing a great deal ofmovement from established markets toyounger, faster-growth ones,” saidGlobal Talent Director Sarah Robinson.Lewis says it has a “war chest” of $30million for acquisitions this year. Allison+Partners in August opened an

office in Silicon Valley’s Mountain View,Calif., to put the firm, as San Francisco-based senior partner Phil Carpenter put it,“at the epicenter of the technology com-munity.” Key tech business for A+Pincludes Dropbox, Samsung, Zynga,Sony, Mozilla and Sprint.

MWW doubles techMWW picked up business from Hoopla

Digital, Booking.com, Armitron, AgentAce and BACtrack, among others, in 2013to build on a tech roster that includesSamsung Mobile, NQ Mobile, and Nikon.It added Bite PR’s New York chief inSeptember as VP for enterprise and tech-nology. Technology Chair Ephraim Cohendecamped for FleishmanHillard thisFebruary, but MWW recruited EdelmanDigital’s creative director Carl Sorvinoand FTI Consulting’s Mitzi Emrich to leadsocial. MWW also acquired London’sParys Communications, a corporate, con-sumer and B2B firm that works for tele-com and Internet giant Level 3. Zeno, part of Edelman, had a record

year overall with 44% growth to $35.8million. Its tech operation blossomed to$10.5 million and includes Webtrends,Wargaming America, Murfie.com,RentSocial and Redbox. Rounding out the top 10, Edelman’s

billings in the sector grew 22% to nearly$266 million; Waggener Edstrom dipped3.4% to just over $57 million; APCOinched up 0.3% to top $32 million;Racepoint Global posted $19.4 million of$24 million overall (+1.6%) in tech; andSparkPR $11.4 million, up 1%.At Edelman, technology was among a

handful of specialties — alongside energy

and financial services — where PR wascalled upon more in 2013. Wins from2013 included PitneyBowes and FacebookUK amid core techclients like Microsoft,HP and eBay. Ruder Finn soared

74% to $11 million.Key tech clientsinclude enterprisesoftware developerInfor, Xerox Park,the Palo AltoResearch Center,and SamsungResearch Amerca.Its RFI Studios digi-tal arm expanded toSan Francisco andChina last year andin March the firmcreated a health IToperation to lever-age its expertise inthe healthcare spacetoward technologymarkets.L a u n c h S q u a d ,

headquartered inSan Francisco, saw a20% increase in techrevenues to $10.3million. Its rosterincludes TibcoSoftware, Coursera,Wine.com, and theTV streaming serv-ice Aereo, which iscurrently before theSupreme Court. LS,led by JasonMandell, was head ofthe game in forming a content operation,Original9, in 2012. Miami-based tech firm Max Borges

Agency saw 21% growth in 2013 to sur-pass $9 million in billings. The firm,which counts Voxx International, SwannSecurity, Korg and MarshallHeadphones among its clients, special-izes in consumer tech. CEO Max Borges said the firm has

benefitted from building its existingclientele, in addition to pitching newbusiness. “We pride our success in notonly exhibiting what we can do forprospects but by providing new andexciting opportunities for existing clien-tele,” he said. £

Retaining spotlight, digital fuels tech PR gainsPR’s most pervasive sector showed robust growth in 2013 astechnology continued to permeate the consumer, media andcorporate milieu.

Richard Edelman,President and

CEO of Edelman

Max Borges, CEOof Max Borges

Agency

By Greg Hazley

O’Dwyer’s rankings of tech PR firmspg. 16

Sarah Robinson,Global Talent

Director of Lewis PR

Maymagazine_Layout 1 5/5/14 11:37 AM

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN TECHNOLOGYFirm 2013 Net Fees Firm 2013 Net Fees1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.

$265,931,298

57,008,000

42,560,000

32,133,169

19,428,370

16,354,000

14,393,000

14,282,000

11,360,750

10,958,000

10,465,800

10,251,182

9,308,094

9,150,000

9,116,390

8,000,000

7,771,100

7,382,549

6,960,614

5,929,950

5,679,255

4,850,000

4,654,000

4,233,039

3,965,280

3,866,446

3,727,450

3,365,280

3,069,256

2,968,410

2,623,750

2,432,570

2,230,000

2,192,350

2,094,314

2,000,000

1,900,000

1,815,599

1,540,000

40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.65.66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78.

$1,496,894

1,484,000

1,451,751

1,417,331

1,400,000

1,263,337

1,095,785

1,033,825

1,016,122

993,098

963,049

921,034

842,550

586,000

554,329

488,673

479,166

434,011

406,419

402,000

374,886

354,923

320,356

261,000

254,864

247,748

225,000

215,500

178,179

193,727

178,153

178,094

165,959

156,000

111,137

100,000

88,869

86,500

65,751

Trylon SMR

North 6th Agency (N6A)

Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence

Lambert, Edwards + Associates

Makovsky

Idea Grove

Catapult PR-IR

Moore Communications Group

Linhart Public Relations

Hunter PR

Rasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.

K/F Communications

Singer Associates

Wise Public Relations

Seigenthaler Public Relations

Lane

Feintuch Communications

rbb Public Relations

Standing Partnership

French | West | Vaughan

Pulp-PR

Kohnstamm Communications

CooperKatz & Co.

IW Group

Public Communications Inc.

Beehive PR

TransMedia Group

Schneider Associates

Marketing Maven PR

RF | Binder Partners

Red Sky PR

OCG PR

VPE Public Relations

O’Malley Hansen Comms.

McNeely Pigott & Fox PR

Landis Communications

Hope-Beckham

Rosica

Maccabee

Edelman

Waggener Edstrom

Lewis PR

APCO Worldwide

Racepoint Global

MWW

Allison+Partners

W2O Group

SparkPR

Ruder Finn

Zeno Group

LaunchSquad

Finn Partners

The Hoffman Agency

Max Borges Agency

Horn Group

PadillaCRT

Airfoil

Fahlgren Mortine

Inkhouse Media + Marketing

Highwire PR

SS|PR

Coyne PR

Bateman Group

PAN Communications

Formula PR

Jackson Spalding

Gibbs & Soell

Walker Sands Comms.

LEVICK

March Communications

J Public Relations

Kaplow

Prosek Partners

Peppercomm

5W Public Relations

Gregory FCA

Hotwire

Trevelino/Keller

New York

Bellevue, WA

San Francisco

Wash., D.C.

Boston

New York

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

New York

New York

San Francisco

New York

San Jose

Miami

San Francisco

Minneapolis

Southfield, MI

Columbus

Waltham, MA

San Francisco

Northfield, IL

Parsippany, NJ

San Francisco

Boston

New York

Atlanta

New York

Chicago

Wash., D.C

Boston

San Diego

New York

New York

New York

New York

Ardmore, PA

New York

Atlanta

New York

New York

Nashville

Grand Rapids

New York

Dallas

Boulder

Tallahassee

Denver

New York

Boston

San Francisco

San Francisco

New York

Nashville

Portland, OR

New York

Miami

St. Louis

Raleigh

Los Angeles

St. Paul, MN

New York

W. Hollywood

Chicago

St. Paul, MN

Boca Raton, FL

Boston

Camarillo, CA

New York

Boise

Ft. Worth, TX

S. Pasadena

Chicago

Nashville

San Francisco

Atlanta

Paramus, NJ

Minneapolis

© Copyright 2014, J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc.


RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN TECHNOLOGYFirm 2013 Net Fees Firm 2013 Net Fees1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.

$265,931,298

57,008,000

42,560,000

32,133,169

19,428,370

16,354,000

14,393,000

14,282,000

11,360,750

10,958,000

10,465,800

10,251,182

9,308,094

9,150,000

9,116,390

8,000,000

7,771,100

7,382,549

6,960,614

5,929,950

5,679,255

4,850,000

4,654,000

4,233,039

3,965,280

3,866,446

3,727,450

3,365,280

3,069,256

2,968,410

2,623,750

2,432,570

2,230,000

2,192,350

2,094,314

2,000,000

1,900,000

1,815,599

1,540,000

40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.65.66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78.

$1,496,894

1,484,000

1,451,751

1,417,331

1,400,000

1,263,337

1,095,785

1,033,825

1,016,122

993,098

963,049

921,034

842,550

586,000

554,329

488,673

479,166

434,011

406,419

402,000

374,886

354,923

320,356

261,000

254,864

247,748

225,000

215,500

178,179

193,727

178,153

178,094

165,959

156,000

111,137

100,000

88,869

86,500

65,751

Trylon SMR

North 6th Agency (N6A)


Lambert, Edwards + Associates

Makovsky

Idea Grove

Catapult PR-IR



Hunter PR


K/F Communications

Singer Associates

Wise Public Relations


Lane





Pulp-PR

Kohnstamm Communications

CooperKatz & Co.

IW Group


Beehive PR

TransMedia Group


Marketing Maven PR


Red Sky PR

OCG PR


O’Malley Hansen Comms.



Hope-Beckham

Rosica

Maccabee

Edelman

Waggener Edstrom

Lewis PR

APCO Worldwide

Racepoint Global

MWW

Allison+Partners

W2O Group

SparkPR

Ruder Finn

Zeno Group

LaunchSquad

Finn Partners

The Hoffman Agency

Max Borges Agency

Horn Group

PadillaCRT

Airfoil

Fahlgren Mortine


Highwire PR

SS|PR

Coyne PR

Bateman Group

PAN Communications

Formula PR

Jackson Spalding

Gibbs & Soell

Walker Sands Comms.

LEVICK

March Communications

J Public Relations

Kaplow

Prosek Partners

Peppercomm

5W Public Relations

Gregory FCA

Hotwire

Trevelino/Keller

New York

Bellevue, WA

San Francisco

Wash., D.C.

Boston

New York

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

New York

New York

San Francisco

New York

San Jose

Miami

San Francisco

Minneapolis

Southfield, MI

Columbus

Waltham, MA

San Francisco

Northfield, IL

Parsippany, NJ

San Francisco

Boston

New York

Atlanta

New York

Chicago

Wash., D.C

Boston

San Diego

New York

New York

New York

New York

Ardmore, PA

New York

Atlanta

New York

New York

Nashville

Grand Rapids

New York

Dallas

Boulder

Tallahassee

Denver

New York

Boston

San Francisco

San Francisco

New York

Nashville

Portland, OR

New York

Miami

St. Louis

Raleigh

Los Angeles

St. Paul, MN

New York

W. Hollywood

Chicago

St. Paul, MN

Boca Raton, FL

Boston

Camarillo, CA

New York

Boise

Ft. Worth, TX

S. Pasadena

Chicago

Nashville

San Francisco

Atlanta

Paramus, NJ

Minneapolis



REPORT

Coming off a nearly 60 percentsurge (59.6 percent) in healthcarePR fee income, New Jersey-

based MWW Group is poised forgrowth from clients such as N.J.Council of Teaching Hospitals,Emergency Medical Assn. of N.J. RiteAid, Centene Corp, Dukan Diet andSwisse Wellness.

MWW Group CEO Michael Kempnersays his firm, a top-20 PR healthcareoperation with fees of $3.4 million, iskeeping close tabs on what other exist-ing “well-being societies” are doing.

In late 2013, MWW acquired ParysCommunications in London, to keepabreast of developments in the U.K.

The deal added Four SeasonsHealthcare Ltd., BBC Worldwide, NewsUK and Three UK to MWW’s line-up.MWW made waves here forrepresent-ing Australia’s Swisse Wellness, a topvitamin company Down Under.

In crafting a plan emphasizing SwisseWellness’ premium ingredients and cul-ture-driven service, MWW organizedlaunch events in Hollywood that caughtthe eye of the Los Angeles Times,People and CNN.

The firm built on that momentum byleveraging exclusives of celebrity andbrand interaction with E!, Radar Online,Extra and US Weekly.

Kempner believes health and well-ness clients in the US and overseasshare the common denominator of deal-ing with more proactive consumers.

“Coordination and collaboration,combined with cost-effective go-to mar-ket initiatives that are informed by dataand increased consumer engagement,will increase the odds for success foreveryone,” said the MWW chief.

Edelman powers aheadEdelman, which is the number-one

healthcare outfit, enjoyed a 12.7 percentrise in fees to $114.4 million, andearned massive publicity for client CVSCaremark’s decision to drop the sale oftobacco products from its stores coast-to-coast.

Edelman coordinated the media blitzvia its “CVS Quits” promotional push

to herald the landmark decision that willresult in an estimated $2 billion in lostrevenues, but priceless PR.

The firm also worked high-profilecampaigns such as the American HeartAssn.’s signature “Go Red” campaignfocused on women and heart diseaseand initiatives from the American LungAssn., Carolinas Healthcare, QwestDiagnostics, Dannon and Healthways.

Kym White, Edelman’s Global HealthPractice Chair, says a 2014 priority is tofocus on corporate health, digital, mar-ket access and crisis management.

The practice also is looking to lever-age partnerships, such as Edelman’scollaboration with TEDMED, to furtherdemonstrate healthcare innovation andto provide new communications plat-forms for clients.

Cooney Waters eyes reboundNo. 5 firm Cooney/Waters Group

took a 26 percent hit in fee income to$14 million as it parted ways with long-term client Sanofi Pasteur.

CEO Tim Bird is optimistic about2014 as the firm added a raft of newbusiness in late 2013 with programsslated for kick-off throughout the cur-rent year.

Allere, point-of-care diagnostics, andWater Supply and SanitationCollaborative Council, United Nationsunit dedicated for improving sanitationin the developing world, represent newrevenue streams for CWG.

The group also works for US Centersfor Disease Control, Novartis Vaccines,Abbott Fund, Gilead Sciences andNational Foundation for InfectiousDiseases.

In November, Bird forged theClearpath Health Communications ven-ture with Russo Partners.

That union in March landedScioderm, the late-stage clinical phar-maceutical company focused working

on a treatment for epidermolysis bul-losa, as a client.

In March, CWG bid farewell to Co-Founder Lenore Cooney, who steppeddown after three decades of PR service.

W2O recommits to healthcareW2O, which has been diversifying

from its healthcare roots, has reaf-firmed its commitment to its founda-tional business with Jim Weiss playinga more hands-onrole and DianeWeiser, W2OHealth Leader,assuming leader-ship of the practiceacross all the firms.

“The agency hasnever had as manytools, talented peo-ple and expertise totap to serve ourgrowing client ros-ter as we do todayand our commit-ment to and pas-sion for this sectorof our businessremains as deepand robust as ever,”said W2O ChiefWeiss.

The companylaunched a digitalhealth practice tocapitalize on theconvergence ofhealthcare and technology and how net-works and data impact healthcare com-munications.

Led by Carolyn Wang and RobCronin, the team helps clients engagein and lead conversations surroundingmHealth, electronic health records,telehealth, personal genomics, popula-tion health, patient engagement, healthinformation exchange, clinical analyt-ics and remote patient monitoring, rev-enue cycle management and wearabledevices.

Weiss says W2O has continued inno-vating in the space with the develop-

Healthcare PR transitions from sickness to wellnessHealthcare PR firms are positioning for the “healthcare for the sick model” to a “well-beingsociety,” offering a menus of approaches and behaviors for hospital systems, health managemententities, technologies and food & fitness, according to experts.

Micheal Kempner,MWW Group CEO

Cooney/WatersGroup CEO

Tim Bird

By Kevin McCauley

0Continued on page 22

O’Dwyer’s rankings of healthcare PR firmspg. 24


ment of such proprietary ana-lytics tools as MDigital Life,which has mapped the digitalfootprint of more than220,000 US physicians todate, and has applied an ana-lytics-driven engagementstrategy to transform clinicaltrial recruitment initiatives fora variety of clients facingrecruitment challenges.

Notable new hires in 2013include Erik Hawkinson,Managing Director, formerlyof Roche and Novartis; MikeHartman, Chief CreativeOfficer, formerly of GreyHealthcare, Digitas andPublicis; Maura Bergen,Managing Director, formerlyof Ketchum and Novartis;Dorcas Lind, Group Director,formerly of Ogilvy and GCI.

W2O, which ranked secondamong healthcare practices,recorded an 8.6 percent jumpin 2013 fees to $57.1 million.

Coyne guides clients into unknownCoyne PR CEO Thomas Coyne

believes his firm will cash-in on oppor-tunities offered by the rapidly converg-

ing digital, social and tra-ditional health program-ming sectors.

“With little industry guid-ance to go on, companiesare seeking hands-on expe-rience. This experience,combined with our com-mitment to brand strategy,storytelling and break-through creative, positionsus strongly for continuedgrowth and success in 2014and beyond,” he said.

Coyne PR’s chief says“much of 2013 growthcame from digital andsocial health-oriented ini-tiatives for clients, includ-ing the establishment of aCenter of Excellence inSocial Media, patient blog-ger networks, social mediaadvisory board meetingswith bloggers, digitalbrand planning sessionsand brand ecosystem

ideation and development.” Coyne represents Novartis, Pfizer,

Express Scripts, Humana,Breastcancer.org, and Christopher &

Dana Reeve Foundation.The firm chalked up $3.5 million in

healthcare fees during 2013. £


HEALTHCARE RANKINGS cont.

Coyne PR CEOThomas F. Coyne

Diane Weiser,Health Leader of

W2O Group

The liquidation trustee for the bankrupt globallaw firm Dewey & LeBoeuf has sued to recovermore than $205,000 paid to crisis PR firm SitrickBrincko Group.

The trustee, Alan Jacobs, argued in a complaintfiled April 17 in federal bankruptcy court in NewYork that the PR payments were made within 90days of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Chapter 11 filing, timeframe known as a “preference period.” Jacobscontends tha t the payments enabled Sitrick toreceive more funds than the firm would have beenpaid as part of an unsecured debt in bankruptcy.

D&L filed for bankruptcy on May 28, 2012, ahigh-profile collapse of a global firm thatemployed more than 1,000 lawyers. The firm hiredSitrick as media swarmed around its financialwoes in March of 2012. D&L in June of that yearpetitioned the court to retain Sitrick through theChapter 11 process to wind down the firm’s opera-tions.

The trustee, which included any additional PRpayments that are found during discovery, said itsent a letter to Sitrick Brincko in September 2013demanding return of the funds, which includedpayments in April 2012 of $38,000 and in May2012 of $167,000.

PR News Briefs

LAW FIRM TRUSTEE GOESAFTER PR PAYMENTS


RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN HEALTHCAREFirm 2013 Net Fees Firm 2013 Net Fees1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

Edelman

W2O Group

Ruder Finn

APCO Worldwide

Cooney/Waters Group

Makovsky

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Dodge Communications

Zeno Group

Spectrum

PadillaCRT

GYMR

ReviveHealth

Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock

Crosby Marketing Comms.

Racepoint Global


MWW

Coyne PR

Allison+Partners

Finn Partners

5W Public Relations

SS|PR

Seven Twenty Strategies


Kyne


Hunter Public Relations

Lambert, Edwards & Associates





Pan Communications

New York

San Francisco

New York

Wash., D.C.

New York

New York

Bellevue, WA

Alpharetta, GA

New York

Wash., D.C.

Minneapolis

Wash., D.C.

Nashville

Brentwood, TN

Annapolis

Boston

Chicago

New York

Parsippany, NJ

San Francisco

New York

New York

Northfield, IL

Wash., D.C.

Boston

New York

New York

New York

Grand Rapids

Tallahassee

Raleigh

Nashville

Nashville

Boston

$114,410,747

57,112,000

25,508,000

22,902,463

14,020,940

7,800,000

7,543,000

7,006,911

6,152,376

6,102,379

6,095,625

6,064,518

5,300,000

5,054,163

4,804,999

4,487,292

4,025,867

3,352,000

3,305,000

3,300,000

2,830,092

2,800,000

2,700,000

2,495,542

2,388,689

2,249,844

2,222,975

1,970,964

1,586,943

1,537,440

1,475,000

1,268,636

1,261,353

1,260,000

$1,250,000

1,010,606

975,000

950,000

931,862

896,000

880,455

832,166

831,892

808,841

738,091

730,674

710,793

579,410

553,800

484,500

408,075

360,000

343,000

331,979

329,035

310,786

296,292

270,686

256,920

223,024

175,000

127,553

110,000

70,567

66,000

56,366

36,000

34,589

Singer Associates

LaVoieHealthScience

Bliss Integrated Comm.

Gregory FCA

Jackson Spalding

Lewis PR

L.C. Williams & Associates

CooperKatz & Co.

Perry Communications Group

Fahlgren Mortine



Sachs Media Group

LEVICK

Rosica

Regan Communications Group


Trevelino/Keller

Highwire PR

Beehive PR



Bridge Global Strategies

Marketing Maven PR


Maccabee

TransMedia Group

Idea Grove


Red Sky

Weiss PR

OCG PR

BizCom Associates

Hope Beckham

San Francisco

Boston

New York

Ardmore

Atlanta

San Francisco

Chicago

New York

Sacramento

Columbus

Nashville

St. Louis

Tallahassee

Wash., D.C.

Paramus, NJ

Boston

Boston

Atlanta

San Francisco

St. Paul, MN

Miami

S. Pasadena

New York

Camarillo, CA

Denver

Minneapolis

Boca Raton, FL

Dallas

San Francisco

Boise, ID

Baltimore

Ft. Worth, TX

Addison, TX

Atlanta

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.



RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN HEALTHCAREFirm 2013 Net Fees Firm 2013 Net Fees1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

Edelman

W2O Group

Ruder Finn

APCO Worldwide

Cooney/Waters Group

Makovsky

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Dodge Communications

Zeno Group

Spectrum

PadillaCRT

GYMR

ReviveHealth

Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock

Crosby Marketing Comms.

Racepoint Global


MWW

Coyne PR

Allison+Partners

Finn Partners

5W Public Relations

SS|PR

Seven Twenty Strategies


Kyne


Hunter Public Relations

Lambert, Edwards & Associates





Pan Communications

New York

San Francisco

New York

Wash., D.C.

New York

New York

Bellevue, WA

Alpharetta, GA

New York

Wash., D.C.

Minneapolis

Wash., D.C.

Nashville

Brentwood, TN

Annapolis

Boston

Chicago

New York

Parsippany, NJ

San Francisco

New York

New York

Northfield, IL

Wash., D.C.

Boston

New York

New York

New York

Grand Rapids

Tallahassee

Raleigh

Nashville

Nashville

Boston

$114,410,747

57,112,000

25,508,000

22,902,463

14,020,940

7,800,000

7,543,000

7,006,911

6,152,376

6,102,379

6,095,625

6,064,518

5,300,000

5,054,163

4,804,999

4,487,292

4,025,867

3,352,000

3,305,000

3,300,000

2,830,092

2,800,000

2,700,000

2,495,542

2,388,689

2,249,844

2,222,975

1,970,964

1,586,943

1,537,440

1,475,000

1,268,636

1,261,353

1,260,000

$1,250,000

1,010,606

975,000

950,000

931,862

896,000

880,455

832,166

831,892

808,841

738,091

730,674

710,793

579,410

553,800

484,500

408,075

360,000

343,000

331,979

329,035

310,786

296,292

270,686

256,920

223,024

175,000

127,553

110,000

70,567

66,000

56,366

36,000

34,589

Singer Associates

LaVoieHealthScience


Gregory FCA

Jackson Spalding

Lewis PR

L.C. Williams & Associates

CooperKatz & Co.

Perry Communications Group

Fahlgren Mortine



Sachs Media Group

LEVICK

Rosica

Regan Communications Group


Trevelino/Keller

Highwire PR

Beehive PR



Bridge Global Strategies

Marketing Maven PR


Maccabee

TransMedia Group

Idea Grove


Red Sky

Weiss PR

OCG PR

BizCom Associates

Hope Beckham

San Francisco

Boston

New York

Ardmore

Atlanta

San Francisco

Chicago

New York

Sacramento

Columbus

Nashville

St. Louis

Tallahassee

Wash., D.C.

Paramus, NJ

Boston

Boston

Atlanta

San Francisco

St. Paul, MN

Miami

S. Pasadena

New York

Camarillo, CA

Denver

Minneapolis

Boca Raton, FL

Dallas

San Francisco

Boise, ID

Baltimore

Ft. Worth, TX

Addison, TX

Atlanta

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.



REPORT

Fourteen of the top 25 firms in 2013with comparable figures for the previ-ous year reported either a percentage

drop or flat income with 11 showing gains. The top 10 financial agencies combined

for a solid 15.8% gain in fees to $144.8 mil-lion.

That performance was largely due torobust growth in the larger firms such asRuder Finn (+37.6% to $13.9 million),Edelman (+27.3% to $42.4 million) andICR (17.1% to $39.7%).

Dukas PR and Prosek Partners were theother top 10 firms to show double-digitgains, chalking up 12.2% and 11.5%advances, respectively.

“Breakthrough” for RFKathy Bloomgarden, CEO of No. 4 firm

RF, told O’Dwyer’s the “convergence ofpublic relations, marketing and socialengagement has permitted us to conceiveand carry out new creative programs inways never thought possible before.”

During 2013, she said RF expanded itsfocus on global assignments, continued tospark fresh thinking and grew innovativeofferings related to it core strengths.

The vast bulk (86%) of RF’s workderives from global multinationals with57% of overall revenues flowing fromclients spending at least $1 million. Thoseassignments, noted Bloomgarden, providethe agency “a seat at the table with itsclients’ senior management.”

On the financial front, the firm workedon corporate reputation issues, ran pro-grams to boost shareholder value andunveiled strategic communications cam-paigns.

The firms established a new financialcommunications practice in Asia this pastyear, under the leadership of Elaine Chan.

Bloomgarden identified RF’s core finan-cial capabilities as corporate positioningand message development, executivecoaching, stakeholder mapping andengagement, global analyst and financialmedia relations, issues management, SEOand web presence optimization.

She said developments at RF during theearly part of this its 65th anniversary year“point to an even bolder, more transforma-tional future.”

Record year for ICRICR CEO Tom Ryan said “first-hand

capital markets experience, deep industryknowledge and decades of strategic com-munications experience” proved to be thedifferentiation that propelled the Norwalk,CT, firm to a record year in 2013 followingdouble-digital growth performances in2012 and 2011.

The firm was very active in the con-sumer, real estate and technology sectors,garnering a number of new wins includingNoodles & Company, Re/Max, Cvent,AMC Entertainment Holdings and TractorSupply Company.

Specifically, the firm experiencedstrength in ongoing corporate PR services,special situations, shareholderactivism/short seller defense and M&A andIPO communications, according to Ryan.

He called ICR “a clear market leader” inIPO communications, developing and exe-cuting plans for 33 transactions in 2013,including such standouts as Benefitfocus,Criteo, Cvent, and Sprouts FarmersMarket.

In addition, the agency ranked as a topfive public relations advisor to M&A trans-actions based on deal volume in the U.S.,according to Mergermarket’s Global M&ATrend report.

The firm supported its revenue base with120 staffers, each generating average rev-enues of $360,000.

ICR invested in infrastructure 2013,expanding its Boston, New York, SanFrancisco and Beijing offices and addingsenior practitioners across 20+ industry ver-ticals.

Looking ahead to 2014, ICR generateddouble-digit growth during the first-quarterdriven partly by its 16th annual ICRXchange, a unique investment and net-working conference.

This year’s event featured approximately2,200 attendees and 175 privately held andpublicly traded company managementteams.

Ryan believes ICR Xchange is a strongplatform, which enables companies,investors, the media, ICR staffers and otherstakeholders to exchange insights andstrategies for the balance of the year.

Peppercomm‘s transition timeEd Moed, Co-Founder & CEO of

Peppercomm said the past year was one of“tremendous transition” at the New Yorkheadquartered shop.

He said the firm made great strides in exe-cuting its three-year vision with a focus onoffering fully integrated communicationsand marketing servicesfor our clients.

“The impact of thischange is enablingclients across multipleindustries to buildtheir brands with criti-cal end audiences, andgenerate communica-tions campaigns thathave a direct impacton their bottom lines,”added Moed.

The firm’s financialand professional serv-ices category withconsumer lifestyle andindustrial/B2B are itscore practices.

The acquisition ofWalek & Assocs., afirm with deep finan-cial services/capitalmarkets expertise, wasamong highlights inthe firm’sfinancial/professionalservices group. Thatpick-up was rebrandedto WalekPeppercomm.

Citibank, PaulsonHedge Fund andOppenheimer areamong Peppercomm’sfinancial accounts.

Moed is bullish on2014. He said the firm“experienced monthover month growth during the first quarterand is projecting this trend will continue.”

The strategy implemented in 2013,according to Moed, is “now laying thefoundation for enhanced growth over thenext few years.” £

Financial firms seek rebound from “mixed” 2013Financial firms closed the books on a mixed 2013, but lookahead for solid gains this year due to the anticipated strength-ening of the US economy.

By Kevin McCauley

Ed Moed, Co-Founder & CEOof Peppercomm

Ruder Finn CEOKathy

Bloomgarden

ICR CEO Thomas Ryan

O’Dwyer’s rankings of financial PR firmspg. 28


RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN FINANCEFirm 2013 Net Fees Firm 2013 Net Fees

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

Edelman

ICR

APCO Worldwide

Ruder Finn

Prosek Partners

MWW

Peppercomm


Intermarket Communications

Makovsky

Dukas Public Relations

Gregory FCA

SS|PR


PadillaCRT

Allison+Partners

Lambert, Edwards + Asscs.

Regan Comms. Group

Finn Partners

LEVICK

Zeno Group

Gibbs & Soell

Lane

New York

Norwalk, CT

Wash., D.C.

New York

New York

New York

New York

New York

New York

New York

New York

Ardmore, PA

Northfield, IL

New York

Minneapolis

San Francisco

Grand Rapids

Boston

New York

Wash., D.C.

New York

New York

Portland, OR

$42,381,726

39,692,938

14,144,438

13,901,000

12,563,241

5,775,000

4,260,369

4,218,859

4,128,335

3,800,000

3,741,809

3,200,000

2,700,000

2,131,000

1,720,775

1,668,000

1,536,645

1,291,000

1,240,894

1,140,000

990,319

917,218

829,585

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

Singer Associates

CooperKatz & Co.

Beehive PR

Leverage PR

Jackson Spalding







Trevelino/Keller

IW Group

TransMedia Group

McNeely Pigott & Fox Public PR




Sachs Media Group


Marketing Maven PR

Maccabee

Weiss PR

San Francisco

New York

St. Paul

Austin

Atlanta

Boston

Waltham, MA

Nashville

Raleigh

Denver

Miami

Atlanta

W. Hollywood

Boca Raton, FL

Nashville

Boston

San Francisco

New York

Tallahassee

St. Louis

Camarillo, CA

Minneapolis

Baltimore

$821,000

625,013

602,582

580,364

532,492

508,475

453,203

451,746

310,118

308,101

289,108

240,000

219,000

200,000

190,551

167,994

150,000

122,141

121,061

83,037

74,299

68,007

66,000




REPORT

Social media has turned just abouteveryone into gossip columnists,the writers said. There’s such a

great demand for gossip that the colum-nists have had to create “faux celebs” tosatisfy it.

Jo Piazza, Executive News Directorat In Touch and Life & Style, and authorof Celebrity Inc.: How Famous PeopleMake Money, said “Celebrities controlso much of what people think, whatthey buy, what they do, that there needsto be that system of checks and bal-ances, calling them out and keepingthem honest.”

If you’re wondering how KimKardashian can wind up on the covers offive supermarket mags at the same time,and you think they are coordinating on this,you are right, said George Rush, who co-authored the Rush & Molloy column thatran from 1995-2010 in The Daily News.

Pressures on columnists airedRush said his editors would sometimes

question an item of little news value but itwas a “payback” for someone who hadgiven him a good tip and he said he wouldfight to keep it in the paper.

One question from a member of the audi-ence of more than 150 was this: “How com-

mon is it for the sword, or the pen,to be for sale?”

The panelists, including RichardJohnson, former Page Six Editorwho has returned to the New YorkPost with his own thrice-weeklycolumn after three years on theWest Coast, parried the questionand would not admit to improperbehavior. Rush noted that Foster Wynans,

who edited the “Heard on theStreet” column for the Wall StreetJournal, went to jail, serving 18months for giving tips to hisfriends who bought stock. Rush

said PR reps may try to talk a columnist outof a negative item about a client by promis-ing an even juicier item about someoneelse. In general, he said, publicists need tobe “disciplined.”

Outrageous gifts sometimes provided“Outrageous gifts” are sometimes sent to

media, said Rush, recalling that he oncesaw “crates of Dom Perignon champagne”in the lobby of a publication. Such gifts aresent back to the source or donated to chari-ty, he said.

Piazza said it “depends on what youmean by ‘for sale.’” Columnists get invitedto club and resort openings in countriesaround the world as well as invites to din-ners and other events, she noted, and haveto come up with their own code of ethics,she added.

Rush said it’s naïve for a news source tothink that a dinner may sway a columnist.

Johnson said columnists are often threat-ened or even hit with legal actions but hehas experienced only one “successful” legalaction involving him in a career that includ-ed editing Page Six for nearly 25 years until2010 when he was named to head the“Flash” gossip section for the News Corp.’stablet newspaper, The Daily. That folded inlate 2012.

Johnson was reprimanded in 2007 fortaking a Christmas gift of $1,000 in 1997from restauranteur Nelo Balan who fre-quently received favorable coverage.

Rush said people who talk to the colum-nist are apt to get treated “a little gentler.”Those who don’t return phone calls or whoout-and-out refuse to talk, are apt to get dif-ferent treatment, he said. £

Talk to gossip columnists, don’t stiff themGossip columnists, who like to expose the “humanity” of overblown celebs, politicians and publicfigures, will treat you “a little gentler” if you just talk to them. That was one of the messages givenby columnists at an April 22 panel sponsored by the Center for Communication in New York.

By Jack O’Dwyer

From L to R: Michael Riedel, Richard Johnson, Jo Piazza andGeorge Rush.

Photo by Sharlene Spingler


Firm 2013 Net Fees Firm 2013 Net Fees

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN AGRICULTURE

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN BEAUTY & FASHION

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment cont.

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN SPORTS & LEISURE

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.

Gibbs & SoellEdelmanPadillaCRTMorganMyersPeppercommStanding PartnershipFahlgren MortineLEVICKO'Malley Hansen Comms.French | West | VaughanRed Sky PRKohnstamm Communications

$14,878,8509,836,7744,942,9004,415,556779,903565,176283,008212,835161,000150,00064,40059,200

New YorkNew YorkMinneapolisWaukesha, WINew YorkSt. LouisColumbusWash., D.CChicagoRaleighBoiseSt. Paul

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

EdelmanFinn PartnersMWW TaylorJackson SpaldingCoyne PRPadillaCRTRegan Comms. GroupW2O GroupHunter PR

New YorkNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkAtlantaParsippany, NJMinneapolisBostonSan FranciscoNew York

$13,790,0295,986,2935,502,0003,677,0002,314,8381,773,0001,450,1001,239,3001,079,0001,063,087

11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.

Allison+PartnersCooperKatz & Co.OCG PRFormula PRKaplowPublic Communications Inc.French | West | VaughanPeppercommLaunchSquadIW Grouprbb Public RelationsHope-BeckhamSeigenthaler Public RelationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRZeno GroupLEVICKLinhart Public RelationsTransMedia GroupVPE Public RelationsLandis CommunicationsMaccabeeThe Buzz AgencySchneider AssociatesRosicaMarketing Maven PRStuntman PR

San FranciscoNew YorkFt. Worth, TXNew YorkNew YorkChicagoRaleighNew YorkSan FranciscoW. HollywoodMiamiAtlantaNashvilleNashvilleNew YorkWash., D.CDenverBoca Raton, FLS. PasadenaSan FranciscoMinneapolisDelray Beach, FLBostonParamus, NJCamarillo, CANew York

$989,000722,698611,389585,387520,000446,013419,060406,367322,550306,000279,055194,686174,142133,461133,233101,675100,783100,00083,00075,00070,43565,95251,75046,50043,52534,500

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.2324.25.26.27.

TaylorFrench | West | VaughanRuder FinnEdelmanCoyne PRSS|PRRegan Comms. GroupPadillaCRTJackson SpaldingFormula PRSachs Media GroupCooperKatz & Co.Finn PartnersTrevelino/KellerAllison+PartnersSeigenthaler Public RelationsPeppercommLaunchSquadBLAZEHope-BeckhamVPE Public RelationsRasky Baerlein Strat. Comms.Rosica Gregory FCALEVICKMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRThe Buzz Agency

New YorkRaleighNew YorkNew YorkParsippany, NJNorthfield, ILBostonMinneapolisAtlantaNew YorkTallahasseeNew YorkNew YorkAtlantaSan FranciscoNashvilleNew YorkSan FranciscoSanta MonicaAtlantaS. PasadenaBostonParamus, NJArdmore, PAWash., D.CNashvilleDelray Beach, FL

$10,775,0005,500,1143,830,0002,818,0931,459,0001,350,0001,292,000993,000680,426495,237436,037342,119315,731300,000200,000170,561159,803153,000142,218136,060107,95692,92087,10075,00037,46328,52324,127

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.

EdelmanRuder FinnKaplowFrench | West | Vaughan5W Public RelationsTurner PR (Fahlgren Mortine)Coyne PRZeno GroupAllison+PartnersO’Malley Hansen Comms.Formula PRSPM CommunicationsLaunchSquadLinhart Public RelationsFinn PartnersBeehive PRThe Buzz AgencyPeppercommPANRosicaTransMedia GroupHope-BeckhamMaccabeeMarketing Maven PRJackson SpaldingSchneider AssociatesSachs Media GroupIW GroupStuntman PRPadillaCRT

$16,494,5177,393,0005,413,0004,225,6133,700,0001,836,8721,594,000993,904898,000688,000668,454570,621525,775521,913353,404300,809290,494188,478180,000174,700150,000143,066126,25594,03766,56160,00055,40046,00045,00019,500

New YorkNew YorkNew YorkRaleighNew YorkColumbusParsippany, NJNew YorkSan FranciscoChicagoNew YorkDallasSan FranciscoDenverNew YorkSt. Paul, MNDelray Beach, FLNew YorkBostonParamus, NJBoca Raton, FLAtlantaMinneapolisCamarillo, CAAtlantaBostonTallahasseeW. HollywoodNew YorkMinneapolis




RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN AGRICULTURE

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN BEAUTY & FASHION

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment cont.

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN SPORTS & LEISURE

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.

Gibbs & SoellEdelmanPadillaCRTMorganMyersPeppercommStanding PartnershipFahlgren MortineLEVICKO'Malley Hansen Comms.French | West | VaughanRed Sky PRKohnstamm Communications

$14,878,8509,836,7744,942,9004,415,556779,903565,176283,008212,835161,000150,00064,40059,200

New YorkNew YorkMinneapolisWaukesha, WINew YorkSt. LouisColumbusWash., D.CChicagoRaleighBoiseSt. Paul

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

EdelmanFinn PartnersMWW TaylorJackson SpaldingCoyne PRPadillaCRTRegan Comms. GroupW2O GroupHunter PR

New YorkNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkAtlantaParsippany, NJMinneapolisBostonSan FranciscoNew York

$13,790,0295,986,2935,502,0003,677,0002,314,8381,773,0001,450,1001,239,3001,079,0001,063,087

11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.

Allison+PartnersCooperKatz & Co.OCG PRFormula PRKaplowPublic Communications Inc.French | West | VaughanPeppercommLaunchSquadIW Grouprbb Public RelationsHope-BeckhamSeigenthaler Public RelationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRZeno GroupLEVICKLinhart Public RelationsTransMedia GroupVPE Public RelationsLandis CommunicationsMaccabeeThe Buzz AgencySchneider AssociatesRosicaMarketing Maven PRStuntman PR

San FranciscoNew YorkFt. Worth, TXNew YorkNew YorkChicagoRaleighNew YorkSan FranciscoW. HollywoodMiamiAtlantaNashvilleNashvilleNew YorkWash., D.CDenverBoca Raton, FLS. PasadenaSan FranciscoMinneapolisDelray Beach, FLBostonParamus, NJCamarillo, CANew York

$989,000722,698611,389585,387520,000446,013419,060406,367322,550306,000279,055194,686174,142133,461133,233101,675100,783100,00083,00075,00070,43565,95251,75046,50043,52534,500

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.2324.25.26.27.

TaylorFrench | West | VaughanRuder FinnEdelmanCoyne PRSS|PRRegan Comms. GroupPadillaCRTJackson SpaldingFormula PRSachs Media GroupCooperKatz & Co.Finn PartnersTrevelino/KellerAllison+PartnersSeigenthaler Public RelationsPeppercommLaunchSquadBLAZEHope-BeckhamVPE Public RelationsRasky Baerlein Strat. Comms.Rosica Gregory FCALEVICKMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRThe Buzz Agency

New YorkRaleighNew YorkNew YorkParsippany, NJNorthfield, ILBostonMinneapolisAtlantaNew YorkTallahasseeNew YorkNew YorkAtlantaSan FranciscoNashvilleNew YorkSan FranciscoSanta MonicaAtlantaS. PasadenaBostonParamus, NJArdmore, PAWash., D.CNashvilleDelray Beach, FL

$10,775,0005,500,1143,830,0002,818,0931,459,0001,350,0001,292,000993,000680,426495,237436,037342,119315,731300,000200,000170,561159,803153,000142,218136,060107,95692,92087,10075,00037,46328,52324,127

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.

EdelmanRuder FinnKaplowFrench | West | Vaughan5W Public RelationsTurner PR (Fahlgren Mortine)Coyne PRZeno GroupAllison+PartnersO’Malley Hansen Comms.Formula PRSPM CommunicationsLaunchSquadLinhart Public RelationsFinn PartnersBeehive PRThe Buzz AgencyPeppercommPANRosicaTransMedia GroupHope-BeckhamMaccabeeMarketing Maven PRJackson SpaldingSchneider AssociatesSachs Media GroupIW GroupStuntman PRPadillaCRT

$16,494,5177,393,0005,413,0004,225,6133,700,0001,836,8721,594,000993,904898,000688,000668,454570,621525,775521,913353,404300,809290,494188,478180,000174,700150,000143,066126,25594,03766,56160,00055,40046,00045,00019,500

New YorkNew YorkNew YorkRaleighNew YorkColumbusParsippany, NJNew YorkSan FranciscoChicagoNew YorkDallasSan FranciscoDenverNew YorkSt. Paul, MNDelray Beach, FLNew YorkBostonParamus, NJBoca Raton, FLAtlantaMinneapolisCamarillo, CAAtlantaBostonTallahasseeW. HollywoodNew YorkMinneapolis



RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN HOME FURNISHINGS

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN TRAVEL

Travel cont.

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN ENVIRONMENTAL& PUBLIC AFFAIRS

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.

$45,453,9436,318,8415,339,9243,328,7603,177,2981,750,0001,439,9561,250,508952,667840,551500,000483,170393,481365,990300,000206,622133,123130,000120,000112,750104,98695,00061,000

EdelmanZeno GroupHager SharpGibbs & SoellL.C. Williams & AssociatesKaplowPeppercommPadillaCRTHunter PRFinn PartnersSS|PRLou Hammond & AssociatesMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRFormula PRFrench | West | VaughanHope-BeckhamJackson SpaldingTrevelino/KellerPANBeehive PRMarketing Maven PRRosicaO’Malley Hansen Comms.

New YorkNew YorkWash., D.C.New YorkChicagoNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisNew YorkNew YorkNorthfieldNew YorkNashvilleNew YorkRaleighAtlantaAtlantaAtlantaBostonSt. Paul, MNCamarillo, CAParamus, NJChicago

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.

EdelmanZimmerman AgencyFinn PartnersLou Hammond & AssociatesTurner PR (Fahlgren Mortine)

Development Counsellors Int’lAPCO WorldwideNancy J. Friedman PRJ Public RelationsZeno GroupMWW French | West | VaughanAllison+PartnersJackson Spalding5W Public Relationsrbb Public RelationsCoyne PRBLAZEPadillaCRTMaxwell PR + EngagementLANESeigenthaler Public RelationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox PR

$20,530,2198,589,2006,274,5916,069,2964,531,1684,392,4173,494,4183,332,8062,432,5702,407,1332,250,0002,117,0002,000,0001,464,3551,400,0001,027,000833,000795,351650,486426,643353,788281,637259,053

New YorkTallahasseeNew YorkNew YorkColumbusNew YorkWash., D.CNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkRaleighSan FranciscoAtlantaNew YorkMiamiParsippany, NJSanta MonicaMinneapolisPortland. ORPortland, ORNashvilleNashville

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.

$31,666,32514,931,63810,980,6504,001,0723,872,4783,823,9073,554,0133,500,0003,210,0002,614,0822,243,3971,524,9551,247,813804,374800,000798,739676,133665,556649,883550,000519,315500,000490,133439,000424,259365,267250,000221,461165,592157,858133,27080,00040,00026,429

APCO WorldwideEdelmanDaviesCerrell AssociatesDevelopment Counsellors Int’l.Finn PartnersRasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.Singer AssociatesMWW Sachs Media GroupSevenTwentyStrategiesLEVICKCrosby Marketing Comms.Butler AssociatesAllison+PartnersJackson SpaldingPublic Communications Inc.Moore Comms. GroupOCG PRMakovskyFrench | West | VaughanKaplowPeppercommPadillaCRTStanding PartnershipMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRLandis CommunicationsSchneider AssociatesSeigenthaler Public RelationsVPE Public RelationsZeno GroupGregory FCARosicaLinhart Public Relations

Wash., D.C.New YorkSanta BarbaraLos AngelesNew YorkNew YorkBostonSan FranciscoNew YorkTallahasseeWash., D.C.Wash., D.C.AnnapolisNew YorkSan FranciscoAtlantaChicagoTallahasseeFt. Worth, TXNew YorkRaleighNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisSt. LouisNashvilleSan FranciscoBostonNashvilleS. PasadenaNew YorkArdmore, PAParamus, NJDenver

24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.

216,464$150,975134,614130,483122,500109,11495,00085,05175,00042,040

LEVICKLinhart Public RelationsFormula PRBridge Global StrategiesSchneider AssociatesThe Buzz AgencyGregory FCAStanding PartnershipLandis CommunicationsHope-Beckham

Wash., D.C.DenverNew YorkNew YorkBostonDelray Beach, FLArdmore, PASt. LouisSan FranciscoAtlanta




RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN HOME FURNISHINGS

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN TRAVEL

Travel cont.

RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN ENVIRONMENTAL& PUBLIC AFFAIRS

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.

$45,453,9436,318,8415,339,9243,328,7603,177,2981,750,0001,439,9561,250,508952,667840,551500,000483,170393,481365,990300,000206,622133,123130,000120,000112,750104,98695,00061,000

EdelmanZeno GroupHager SharpGibbs & SoellL.C. Williams & AssociatesKaplowPeppercommPadillaCRTHunter PRFinn PartnersSS|PRLou Hammond & AssociatesMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRFormula PRFrench | West | VaughanHope-BeckhamJackson SpaldingTrevelino/KellerPANBeehive PRMarketing Maven PRRosicaO’Malley Hansen Comms.

New YorkNew YorkWash., D.C.New YorkChicagoNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisNew YorkNew YorkNorthfieldNew YorkNashvilleNew YorkRaleighAtlantaAtlantaAtlantaBostonSt. Paul, MNCamarillo, CAParamus, NJChicago

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.

EdelmanZimmerman AgencyFinn PartnersLou Hammond & AssociatesTurner PR (Fahlgren Mortine)

Development Counsellors Int’lAPCO WorldwideNancy J. Friedman PRZeno GroupMWW French | West | VaughanAllison+PartnersJackson Spalding5W Public Relationsrbb Public RelationsCoyne PRBLAZEPadillaCRTMaxwell PR + EngagementLANESeigenthaler Public RelationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRLEVICK

$20,530,2198,589,2006,274,5916,069,2964,531,1684,392,4173,494,4183,332,8062,407,1332,250,0002,117,0002,000,0001,464,3551,400,0001,027,000833,000795,351650,486426,643353,788281,637259,053216,464

New YorkTallahasseeNew YorkNew YorkColumbusNew YorkWash., D.CNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkRaleighSan FranciscoAtlantaNew YorkMiamiParsippany, NJSanta MonicaMinneapolisPortland. ORPortland, ORNashvilleNashvilleWash., D.C.

24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.

$150,975134,614130,483122,500109,11495,00085,05175,00042,040

Linhart Public RelationsFormula PRBridge Global StrategiesSchneider AssociatesThe Buzz AgencyGregory FCAStanding PartnershipLandis CommunicationsHope-Beckham

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.

$31,666,32514,931,63810,980,6504,001,0723,872,4783,823,9073,554,0133,500,0003,210,0002,614,0822,243,3971,524,9551,247,813804,374800,000798,739676,133665,556649,883550,000519,315500,000490,133439,000424,259365,267250,000221,461165,592157,858133,27080,00040,00026,429

APCO WorldwideEdelmanDaviesCerrell AssociatesDevelopment Counsellors Int’l.Finn PartnersRasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.Singer AssociatesMWW Sachs Media GroupSevenTwentyStrategiesLEVICKCrosby Marketing Comms.Butler AssociatesAllison+PartnersJackson SpaldingPublic Communications Inc.Moore Comms. GroupOCG PRMakovskyFrench | West | VaughanKaplowPeppercommPadillaCRTStanding PartnershipMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRLandis CommunicationsSchneider AssociatesSeigenthaler Public RelationsVPE Public RelationsZeno GroupGregory FCARosicaLinhart Public Relations

Wash., D.C.New YorkSanta BarbaraLos AngelesNew YorkNew YorkBostonSan FranciscoNew YorkTallahasseeWash., D.C.Wash., D.C.AnnapolisNew YorkSan FranciscoAtlantaChicagoTallahasseeFt. Worth, TXNew YorkRaleighNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisSt. LouisNashvilleSan FranciscoBostonNashvilleS. PasadenaNew YorkArdmore, PAParamus, NJDenver

DenverNew YorkNew YorkBostonDelray Beach, FLArdmore, PASt. LouisSan FranciscoAtlanta



RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN FOOD & BEVERAGE

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.

EdelmanFinn PartnersMWW LEVICKAllison+PartnersPeppercommBliss Integrated Comm.rbb Public Relations5W Public RelationsZeno GroupProsek PartnersRasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.Ripp Media/Public RelationsRegan Communications GroupKonnect Public RelationsCooperKatz & Co.French | West | VaughanSchneider AssociatesBoardroom CommunicationsLEWISBendure CommunicationsPadillaCRTMakovskyIW GroupL.C. Williams & AssociatesLinhart Public RelationsStanding PartnershipPerry Communications GroupMoore Communications GroupHope-BeckhamPublic Communications Inc.McNeely Pigott & Fox PRBeehive PRKohnstamm CommunicationsJackson SpaldingCoyne PRSeigenthaler Public RelationsMaccabeeTransMedia GroupWeiss PRPANRosicaLandis CommunicationsMarketing Maven PRTrevelino/KellerGregory FCALaunchSquadOCG PRThe Buzz AgencyIdea GroveFeintuch Communications

New YorkNew YorkNew YorkWashingtonSan FranciscoNew YorkNew YorkMiamiNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkBostonNew YorkBostonLos AngelesNew YorkRaleighBostonPlantation, FLSan FranciscoMiddleburg, VAMinneapolisNew YorkWest HollywoodChicagoDenverSt. LouisSacramentoTallahasseeAtlantaChicagoNashvilleSt. PaulSt. PaulAtlantaParsippany, NJNashvilleMinneapolisBoca RatonBaltimoreBostonParamus, NJSan FranciscoCamarillo, CAAtlantaArdmore, PASan FranciscoFt. Worth, TXDelray Beach, FLDallasNew York

$90,476,53311,658,5974,118,0003,751,6443,500,0003,339,8523,090,0002,889,4162,800,0002,648,0132,642,5002,379,5362,325,4922,142,0001,687,8631,623,5041,415,7751,309,8751,000,000896,000723,439719,800700,000675,000601,914582,259569,560491,992451,513428,259390,338353,481351,399343,807339,370303,000302,585278,624245,000244,436240,000176,322175,000131,662110,000100,00089,20072,00067,50244,69542,208

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.

EdelmanHunter PRAPCO WorldwideMWWTaylorFoodMindsFormula PRRF | Binder PartnersZeno GroupPadillaCRTRegan Comms. Group5W Public RelationsW2O GroupLinhart Public RelationsJackson SpaldingFrench | West | VaughanDye, Van Mol & LawrenceFinn PartnersRuder FinnSS|PRSPM CommunicationsMaxwell PR + EngagementCoyne PRAllison+PartnersPeppercommLambert, Edwards + AssociatesLANEKohnstamm CommunicationsJ Public RelationsBizCom AssociatesLEVICKKonnect Public RelationsBLAZEIW GroupVPE Public Relationsrbb Public RelationsLEWISStuntman PRHope-BeckhamO'Malley Hansen Comms.MorganMyersTransMedia GroupSeigenthaler Public RelationsRosicaMaccabeeTrevelino/KellerThe Buzz AgencyPANSachs Media GroupMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRRasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.Marketing Maven PR

New YorkNew YorkWashingtonNew YorkNew YorkChicagoNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisBostonNew YorkSan FranciscoDenverAtlantaRaleighNashvilleNew YorkNew YorkNorthfield, ILDallasPortland, ORParsippany, NJSan FranciscoNew YorkGrand RapidsPortland, ORSt. PaulSan DiegoAddison, TXWashingtonLos AngelesSanta MonicaW. HollywoodS. PasadenaMiamiSan FranciscoNew YorkAtlantaChicagoWaukesha, WIBoca Raton, FLNashvilleParamus, NJMinneapolisAtlantaDelray Beach, FLBostonTallahasseeNashvilleBostonCamarillo, CA

$97,122,00913,437,27613,252,8577,459,0006,648,0006,432,6406,429,6555,664,4395,642,0905,591,1205,120,4003,300,0002,576,0002,517,7032,263,0941,967,8501,757,7911,742,8471,659,0001,395,0001,373,7391,219,6391,155,0001,100,0001,079,4191,073,649985,585941,375875,436750,000677,847653,740651,531588,000564,135544,929448,000431,950427,658425,000360,558250,000231,622215,200202,460200,000136,848120,00095,08294,86364,78237,482




While chief executives increas-ingly demand that their market-ing and communications offi-

cers be focused on measuring campaigneffectiveness, it’s harder than ever to breakthrough the constant barrage of news andcontent and drive meaningful, measurableinteraction. This is now especially the case,as Facebook has tried to reshape itself intoan ad-driven, profit-first platform; socialmedia professionals have long observedthat Facebook had been on a path of pur-posely decreasing the organic reach ofbranded content in order to sell more ads.

While content reach, engagement andcore brand metrics on which social cam-paigns are measured are important, it’s alsoparamount to look at social as somethingmuch larger than a content marketing medi-um. Social’s real blue-sky opportunity liesin its use as a modern market research tool,now making sense of the world’s largestmodern focus group.

Social listening and intelligence, howev-er, are still often misunderstood, over-looked and undervalued. Social has forcedmany PR pros to step out of their comfortzones; brands and agencies are still figuringout how to optimize their organizations tocapture, sort and interpret social data.Modern market research requires powerfultechnology tools, trained analysts and smartmarketers to derive actionable insights.Social analytics, when mastered, can be aturnkey tool for measurement, a catalyst formarketing and communications program-ming, and the silver bullet in poweringbusiness intelligence for the evolvingorganization.

Sentiment: do people like this product?The most basic type of social media lis-

tening analysis is sentiment. Basically oneis trying to figure out if people like or dis-like a product, a campaign or activation.For example, Chipotle launched a new soy-based burrito filling for vegans. It was test-ed in two markets and, through independentanalysis of social media activity, more than800 people tweeted about trying it.Furthermore, positive mentions outpacednegative 24 to one. Through this type of

exercise one can get an early sense of howthe market reacts to a new product and ifthat product should be rolled out on a larg-er scale.

Measurement: are campaigns effective?Another case for social listening is meas-

uring other marketing and communicationsactivities and determining what impact theyhave through social media activity. Scoresof millennial-focused brands recentlyopened up their wallets in attempts to makea big splash at Coachella. Through sociallistening, these brands could track the suc-cess of their activations by seeing howmany people tweeted about them. Hashtagsembedded into commercials or print ads areanother way brands track the success oflarger campaigns.

The journey: how do they find products?This type of listening exercise is much

more complex but could yield some of themost valuable insights. As an example, let’slook at the automotive industry. There arecertain social indicators that clearly deter-mine a person’s intent to buy a car: the per-son might send a crowd-sourcing tweet outto friends asking for opinions on what tobuy and end with them posting a photo ofhis or her new ride. Tracking this purchasejourney can yield incredible insights. Somegreat work in this area has already beendone by brands like Honda.

Crisis: how bad is it? Another recent example of how a brand

can benefit from social listening happenedrecently to General Motors. After issuing arecall, there was a ton of negative press sur-rounding how the company handled theissue. Social listening could have been used(and may have been) to determine just howbad the crisis was. GM could have usedanalytics to measure the volume of conver-sation and identify who the major playerswere within the discussion in order toinform crisis resolution tactics.

Intercept: how to engage a competitor’scustomers?

Often, consumers turn to social media topublically blast companies they feel are notliving up to their expectations. If yourorganization is savvy enough to capitalizeon this behavioral trend, it could present a

huge opportunity. Take the satellite TVspace for example; DirecTV might want toset up monitoring around terms like “DISHNetwork + service” to identify unhappycustomers and then engage them with con-tent such as special introductory offers inorder to nudge them into switching.

Quality service: what annoys customers?On the flip side of

the previous case, anorganization could doa similar exercise tokeep its finger on thepulse of customerservice issues. Bymonitoring socialmedia, a companycould identify themat-ic problems such aslong wait times to geta representative on thephone. Using thisinformation could jus-tify more investmentsin call centers.

Analysis: what doour customers like?

Finally, the lastexercise is all aboutgetting to know yourbrand’s audience by studying up and doingyour digital homework. For example, agood social listening firm can identify asample set of a brand’s customers and thensearch their profiles for their preferences.This type of analysis facilitates learningwhat your audience is reading or what TVshows they are watching. Your marketingdepartment then can leverage this informa-tion to make strategic ad buys where yourtarget audience is sure to see the messaging.

Smart and timely social intelligence cannot only help a brand perform with greatereffectiveness on social media, but addmuch greater depth and versatility ofinsight across its business. While socialmedia marketing faces skepticism, who canargue with getting smarter about your brandand your customer? Matt Makovsky is Vice President, and

Scott Ziegler is Lead Social Strategist, atMakovsky. www.makovsky.com. £

Increasing competition through social intelligenceSocial media is the single greatest hot-button topic for marketers and communicators today.As the medium has evolved, brands have moved from skeptical observers to proactive socialmarketers. The opportunity to share dynamic content, create an engaged community and affecttarget audiences has unleashed a flurry of brand activity across the major social platforms. Yet,in spite of all this, issues remain among leadership when proving social media’s value. Why?

By Matt Makovsky and Scott Ziegler

Matt Makovsky

FEATURE

Scott Ziegler


Increasing competition through social intelligence


COVER STORY

Majority of top PR firms gained double digits in 2013

PR firms are growing because theynot only have to deal with tradition-al media, although that avenue is

shrinking, but with a profusion of othermeans by which consumers keep them-selves informed.

Social media have given consumers newways of finding out things as well as newways of expressing their opinions. A hostof new electronic tools and software makecommunicating easier than ever.

A new opportunity for firms is supply-ing “sponsored content” for financially-pressed media that are beset with depletedand sometimes demoralized staffs.

Also spurring growth of PR firms is thefact that corporations and institutions havejust about washed their hands of dealingwith the press. They have off-loaded thisdangerous function to firms. The tradition-al house “press contact,” who pursuedreporters rather than waiting for them tocall, disappeared decades ago.

Tech firms show growthTech PR firms recorded many of the

biggest gains. Edelman’s tech practicegrew 36.2% to $265 million.

The category appears to have out-stripped healthcare PR, a perennial “hot”industry area. PR is needed at many stagesof a tech company, from raising capital forstart-ups to PR aimed at experts whoassess the new products, wholesale andretail outlets, trade/general media, con-sumers themselves, and Wall Street firmsif fund raising is sought via a public offer-ing.

Second biggest growth in the top tenwas racked up by a newcomer to the list,tech specialist Lewis PR. It grew 26.6% to$44.8 million. Part of the gain came fromthe acquisition of Davies Murphy Group, atech firm with fees of $9 million and 65employees. U.S. offices are in SanFrancisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., andSan Diego. Tech is 95% of the business ofLewis. The firm has 25 owned officesaround the world plus five LEWIS+ part-ner locations. Partners are in Brazil, Israel,Denmark, Russia and Turkey.

Other big tech firms include SparkPR,$13.4 million; LaunchSquad, $11.3 mil-

lion; Max Borges Agency, $9.1 million;Inkhouse Media + Marketing, $6.3 mil-lion; Highwire PR, $6 million; PanCommunications, $6 million, and TheBateman Group, $4.2 million.

LaunchSquad was up 20.8%, MaxBorges Agency up 23%, Inkhouse up43%, Highwire (formerly Borders +Gratehouse), up 47%, and Bateman up42%.

Top firms see big gainsBiggest gainer in the top ten was Zeno

Group, spurting 44% to $35.8 million.Its sister agency, Edelman, grew 12% to

$734.1 million, which is more than sixtimes the size of the next reporting firm,APCO Worldwide, which had fees of $120million, about even.

The amount of business added byEdelman in 2013 — $78.2 million —would rank as the fourth largest PR firm.

Third biggest growth rate in the top tenwas posted by healthcare specialist W20Group, rising 21% to $75 million.

Acquisitions helped to fuel the growthof Finn Partners, up 37% to $44.4 million,and Fahlgren Mortine, up 36% to $16.8million. Finn added WidmeyerCommunications, a Washington, D.C.,firm billing $9.8 million and FM addedlifestyle firm Turner PR, which had 28staffers.

Disappearing from the top 50 wereQorvis Communications, acquired byPublicis; Atomic, folded into parentGrayling three years after its purchase byGrayling, and CRT/Tanaka, which wasacquired by Padilla Speer Beardsley, nowPadillaCRT.

Seven other PR firms in the top 50 post-

ed gains of more than 20%: Hunter PR,New York, +26.5% to $18.4 million;Launch Squad, San Francisco, +20.8% to$11.3 million; Hager Sharp, Washington,D.C., +47% to $10.4 million; DodgeCommunications, Alpharetta, Ga., +27%to $7 million; and Foodminds, Chicago,+32% to $6.4 million.

Big Gainers in 50-127 CategoryBig gains were posted by the following

in the 50-127 category: 360 PublicRelations, Boston, +30% to $6.1 million;Highwire PR, San Francisco, +47% to $6million; Moore Comms. Group,Tallahassee, +24% to $4.2 million;Bateman Group, San Francisco, +42% to$4.2 million; Walker Sands Comms.,Chicago, +36% to $3.8 million; J PublicRelations, San Diego, +26% to $3.3 mil-lion; Konnect Public Relations, LosAngeles, +90% to $2.3 million; SPMCommunications, Dallas, +22% to $2 mil-lion; Hope-Beckham, Atlanta, +21% to$1.6 million; Blaze, Santa Monica, +22%to $1.5 million; Perry Comms. Group,Sacramento, +44% to $1.5 million; North6th Agency (N6A), New York, +25% to$1.4 million; Idea Grove, Dallas, +51% to$1.4 million. Gatesman + Dave,Pittsburgh, +31% to $1.4 million.

Rankings “absurdly influential”Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs

gave up millions in fees in order to rankhigh in deal-making tables, noted consult-ant Russell Perkins, who was previouslyPresident and CEO of Dorland HealthcareInformation and now heads InfocommerceGroup, in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Perkins saidrankings have become hugely important inrecent years as a quick way to sift throughoceans of information flooding the web.He said that just about every business andindustry has a ranking of one sort or anoth-er, as rankings have now become “absurd-ly influential.”

The fact that Goldman Sachs andMorgan Stanley would give up millions infees to keep their top positions speaks vol-umes about the importance of rankings,Perkins said. Told about the O’Dwyer PRfirm rankings, Perkins said he knows of noother ranking that collects such docu-ments. £

Independent PR firms showed strong growth in 2013, according to O’Dwyer’s 2014 rankingsof PR firms, which ranks agencies by documenting corporate income tax returns and W-3sshowing payroll totals. Eight of the 10 largest firms posted double-digit gains in the last year,and 26 of the firms that ranked in the top 50 grew by more than 10%. Almost half of this year’slist of 130 ranked PR firms experienced financial gains.


By Jack O’Dwyer

O’Dwyer’s rankings of top PR firmspg. 44

O’Dwyer’s rankings of top gaining firmspg. 46



PEOPLE IN PR

Hass exits Edelman

Mark Hass, former CEO ofManning Selvage & Lee, is leav-ing the Edelman US presidency

post to pursue other interests.Russell Dubner, head of Edelman’s 800-

member New York office, will succeedHass and join thefirm’s executive com-mittee.

Matt Harrington,Global COO, believesDubner is “the perfectfit to help lead theU.S. into its nextchapter of success.”

Dubner has runNYC since 2008. His

unit reported triple-digit growth to the $139million mark.

He currently serves as the client lead onBoston Consulting Group and PwC and hasextensive experience on the government ofMexico and Samsung accounts.

Hass completes a five-year stint atEdelman. He joined as China President anddoubled its size to $18 million in fewer thanthree years.

He reported to New York in 2012 as U.S.Chief and increased its revenue 25 percentto more than $440 million.

Edelman has kicked off a search forDubner’s replacement. £

Myers to head WarnerBros global comms

Dee Dee Myers, former PressSecretary to President Clinton, isleaving a Managing Director slot at

Glover Park Group to head communica-tions for Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Myers, who is trading Washington forLos Angeles, is slated to take theExecutive VP, Worldwide CorporateCommunicationsand Public Affairs,role on Sept. 2,reporting to newlyminted CEO KevinTsujihara.

Susan Fleishmanis stepping downfrom the role afternine years, mostunder former CEOBarry Meyer, whoremains chairman.

Warner Bros., one of the six major filmand television studios, is a unit of TimeWarner.

Myers was Clinton’s first-term presssecretary and the first woman to hold thejob, following stints in Democratic politicsin Los Angeles and DC. She joined GloverPark, now owned by WPP, in 2010 afterworking as a journalist, political commen-tator and advisor to NBC’s “The WestWing.”

She is married to Vanity Fair SeniorWriter Todd Purdum and is the author ofWhy Women Should Rule the World(HarperCollins 2009). £

GM ousts comms. chief

Selim Bingol, Senior VP of GlobalCommunications and Public Policyfor General Motors, is leaving the

company amid its ongoing recall crisis.CEO Mary Barra

announced April 14 the exit of Bingol and HumanResources ChiefMelissa Howell.

GM said the exec-utives are leavingimmediately “topursue other inter-ests.”

The company hired formerHill+Knowlton Strategies EVP Jeff Ellerearlier this month.

Bingol, who handled PR through GM’s2010 initial public offering, joined GMfrom AT&T, where he was SVP ofCorporate Communications, in 2010. Headded global public policy to his purviewin October 2012. He was previously atFleishmanHillard in Washington andworked on the Hill.

“We appreciate Selim’s service and forhis helping tell the GM story during one ofthe most exciting periods in the company’shistory,” Barra said in a statement.

GM has not yet named a successor. £

Land ends at AOL

Peter Land is gone as Senior VP-com-munications at AOL in a continuingshuffle of its PR ranks under CEO

Tim Armstrong.The one-time Global Managing Director

for sports at Edelman joined AOL last yearfrom PepsiCo, where he was Senior VP-communications.

He also was Chief Marketing Officer atBreeders’ Cup, Marketing CommunicationsDirector at National Basketball Assn.,European Promotions Director at KraftFoods and Account Supervisor at Cohen &Wolfe.

Land’s end follows the recent departureof PR hand Doug Serton from AOL.

With Land’s exit, AOL handed corporatecommunications duties to IR Chief EoinRyan and expanded the role of ChiefMarketing officer Erika Nardini to includeinternal communications, corporate mar-keting and charities. £

MWW plugs in Zeno’sMulloy for SF

Molly Mulloy, consumer tech leadfor Zeno Group in Los Angeles,has returned to San Francisco

with MWW to serve as GM of the officeand co-head the independent firm’s west-ern region tech practice.

Mulloy, as an EVP, handled accounts likeExpedia, Redbox and T-Mobile at Zeno, aunit of Edelman. She earlier directedEdelman’s tech and digital marketing oper-ation in Hong Kong and was posted in SanFrancisco for Zeno.

Mulloy was globalPR Manager forTexas Instruments’DLP products groupand did stints atL.A.-based Rogers& Cowan andStreamsearch.

MWW ChiefMichael Kempnercalled Mulloy a “natural leader” andproven strategist in the consumer and B2Btech sectors. The firm’s San Francisco out-post did $1.4 million in revenue in 2013with eight staffers.

“Molly’s deep understanding of SiliconValley and the tech space will be a majorasset as we embark on a new stage ofexpansion,” said Kempner. £

Schnee joins Fenton asNY GM

Libby Schnee, a Burson-Marsteller andTeneo Strategy alum focused on cor-porate foundations, philanthropy and

non-profits, has taken the reins of Fenton’sNew York office as General Manager.

Beth Kitzinger, previously NY GM forthe progressive PR firm, was promoted toChief of Operations at Fenton.

Schnee ran her own shop in recent yearsaround a year-long stint as ManagingDirector at Teneo.

She spent 15 years at Burson-Marsteller,rising to director and focused on clientslike the General Mills Foundation andUNHCR. £

Myers

Hass

Bingol

Mulloy


O’DWYER’S RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS WITH MAJOR U.S. OPERATIONSFirm 2013 Net Fees Employees % Change from 2012

+12.0-1.0even+21.0+13.0+12.0+26.6+37.0+16.0+43.7+10.9+8.0

+25.5+1.6+2.0

+14.0+6.6even+9.4

+26.5+15.8+35.9+13.0+9.6-10.3-26.0+4.4

+11.0+4.2-6.4

+13.7+1.0

+20.8+9.0+4.0even+47.0-6.9

+16.0+10.0+23.0-3.0even+8.6-6.0

+20.0even+27.0+3.7

+32.0+43.0+9.0-5.1+3.0

+30.0+14.4+6.5+1.0

+47.0even+10.0+3.6even+12.0+9.3

503065881937352521740728711925617117216517485

12710513389

1086897

1055585507093

119764348964635666538

1072351504543591842464023403749403831393046483033523124

$734,177,526120,345,400117,600,00075,050,00063,249,00048,020,00044,800,00044,375,00042,445,15735,896,99832,896,56032,333,40028,848,00023,915,65223,365,00022,490,10821,100,00020,040,00018,801,84518,417,09217,398,09116,842,06516,019,49214,250,00014,238,59414,020,94013,495,60013,471,60013,099,00512,300,00012,273,53711,360,75011,341,70711,000,00010,980,65010,868,77710,484,9399,957,4679,201,0119,150,0009,116,3908,264,8958,000,0007,759,1627,382,5497,374,1247,300,0007,006,9116,552,4666,432,6406,383,1536,231,0006,214,1546,188,0006,169,4776,102,3796,101,4346,064,5186,022,2556,008,0005,831,4965,810,1045,605,7685,481,2055,300,000

New YorkWash., D.C.Bellevue, WASan FranciscoNew YorkNew YorkSan FranciscoNew YorkNorwalk, CTNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisSan FranciscoBostonBostonNew YorkNew YorkParsippany, NJRaleighNew YorkNew YorkColumbusNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkNorthfieldAtlantaNew YorkNew YorkWash., D.C.San FranciscoSan FranciscoTallahasseeSanta BarbaraNew YorkWash., D.C.BostonMiamiSan JoseMiamiNew YorkSan FranciscoAnnapolisSouthfield, MIWash., D.C.Ardmore, PAAlpharetta, GANew YorkChicagoWaltham, MANew YorkChicagoGrand Rapids, MIBostonWashingtonNew YorkWash., D.C.San FranciscoBostonHoustonMiamiNashvilleDenverNashville

EdelmanAPCO WorldwideWaggener Edstrom CommunicationsW2O GroupRuder FinnMWW Lewis PRFinn PartnersICRZeno GroupDKCPadillaCRTAllison+PartnersRacepoint GlobalRegan Communications GroupGibbs & SoellTaylorCoyne PRFrench | West | VaughanHunter Public RelationsProsek PartnersFahlgren Mortine5W Public RelationsMakovskyPeppercommCooney/Waters GroupSS|PRJackson SpaldingFormula PRRF | Binder PartnersLEVICKSparkprLaunchSquadZimmerman AgencyDaviesKaplowHager SharpRasky Baerlein Strategic CommunicationsJeffrey GroupThe Hoffman AgencyMax Borges AgencyDevelopment Counsellors Int'l (DCI)Horn GroupCrosby Marketing CommunicationsAirfoil Podesta Group Inc.Gregory FCADodge CommunicationsLou Hammond & AssociatesFoodMindsInkhouse Media + MarketingBliss Integrated CommunicationPublic Communications Inc.Lambert, Edwards & Associates360 Public RelationsSpectrumKellen CommunicationsGYMRHighwire PRPAN CommunicationsPierpont Communications, Inc.rbb Public RelationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox Public RelationsLinhart Public RelationsReviveHealth

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.65.


66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78.79.80.81.82.83.84.85.86.87.88.89.90.91.92.93.94.95.96.97.98.99.100.101.102.103.104.105.106.107.108.109.110.111.112.113.114.115.116.117.118.119.120.121.122.123.124.125.126.127.128.129.130.131.

Dye, Van Mol & LawrenceSinger Associates, Inc.Jarrard Phillips Cate & HancockMorganMyersSeven Twenty StrategiesL.C. Williams & AssociatesCooperKatz & Co., Inc.Moore Communications GroupSachs Media GroupBateman GroupIntermarket CommunicationsLANECerrell Associates, Inc.Walker Sands CommunicationsSeigenthaler Public RelationsDukas Public RelationsStanding PartnershipGround Floor MediaNancy J. Friedman Public Relations, Inc.J Public RelationsTrevelino/KellerSchneider AssociatesMarch CommunicationsKonnect Public RelationsRipp Media/Public Relations, Inc.Boardroom Communications, Inc.KyneSPM CommunicationsIW GroupHodges Partnership, TheBeehive PRCashman + Katz Integrated CommunicationsHotwireMaxwell PR + EngagementKohnstamm CommunicationsHope-Beckham, Inc.O’Malley Hansen CommunicationsBLAZEOCG PRPerry Communications Group, Inc.Rosica Trylon SMRNorth 6th Agency, Inc. (N6A)Idea GroveVPE Public RelationsGatesman + DaveTransMedia GroupLandis Communications, Inc.Catapult PR-IRMaccabeeLaVoieHealthScienceRed Sky Public RelationsMarketing Maven Public RelationsK/F CommunicationsBizCom AssociatesWordHampton Public RelationsButler AssociatesBendure CommunicationsThe Buzz AgencyFeintuch CommunicationsLeverage PRWise Public Relations, Inc.Stuntman PRBridge Global StrategiesWeiss PR, Inc.Pulp-PR

NashvilleSan FranciscoBrentwood, TNWaukesha, WIWash., D.C.ChicagoNew YorkTallahasseeTallahasseeSan FranciscoNew YorkPortland, ORLos AngelesChicagoNashvilleNew YorkSt. LouisDenverNew YorkSan DiegoAtlantaBostonBostonLos AngelesNew YorkFt. LauderdaleNew YorkDallasWest HollywoodRichmond, VASt. Paul. MNGlastonbury, CTNew YorkPortland, ORSt. PaulAtlantaChicagoSanta MonicaFt. WorthSacramentoParamus, NJNew YorkNew YorkDallasSouth PasadenaPittsburghBoca Raton, FLSan FranciscoBoulder, COMinneapolisBostonBoiseCamarillo, CASan FranciscoAddison, TXEast Hampton, NYNew YorkMiddleburg, VADelray Beach, FLNew YorkAustinNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkBaltimoreLos Angeles

$5,267,9135,063,3445,054,1635,049,6604,841,4804,659,6674,465,8564,295,5844,245,8634,235,0394,128,3354,109,5614,001,0723,819,1293,810,1353,741,8093,704,0653,570,9563,332,8003,308,0052,751,5952,689,8192,623,7502,341,6032,325,4922,300,0002,249,8442,098,3652,095,0001,969,6501,947,2661,865,0001,815,5991,769,1891,720,4801,656,0001,650,0001,589,1001,568,7321,543,8581,514,4651,496,8941,484,0001,435,9851,425,4341,400,0001,345,1451,200,0001,095,7851,049,9851,010,6061,005,511934,859921,034892,914845,250804,374723,439706,795643,515586,076586,000511,450500,667403,607374,886

5317223531303023222616222243271727152129171823268

137

1912179

2415151414111012121059

18124312109468

119686544533434

even+3.3+3.9+8.0-11.0+5.8-3.4

+24.0-2.3

+42.4-4.2+3.6-11.2+35.9+1.3+7.0-9.6+6.0

+10.6+26.0+4.7-8.1

+22.0+90.0+13.0+4.5+4.0

+21.9+2.0

+12.9-1.7

+17.0+200.0

+3.1-26.7+20.7-16.4+22.0+9.0

+44.0-30.0-9.0

+25.0+51.8-1.9

+31.0+17.7+10.0even-14.0-5.0

-10.8+32.9-14.0+3.7-4.6-6.0

-18.0+19.3+4.9

+186.0+17.5+35.2-5.6+5.6

+222.0© Copyright 2014, J.R. O’Dwyer Co., Inc.



+12.0-1.0even+21.0+13.0+12.0+26.6+37.0+16.0+43.7+10.9+8.0

+25.5+1.6+2.0

+14.0+6.6even+9.4

+26.5+15.8+35.9+13.0+9.6-10.3-26.0+4.4

+11.0+4.2-6.4

+13.7+1.0

+20.8+9.0+4.0even+47.0-6.9

+16.0+10.0+23.0-3.0even+8.6-6.0

+20.0even+27.0+3.7

+32.0+43.0+9.0-5.1+3.0

+30.0+14.4+6.5+1.0

+47.0even+10.0+3.6even+12.0+9.3

503065881937352521740728711925617117216517485

12710513389

1086897

1055585507093

119764348964635666538

1072351504543591842464023403749403831393046483033523124

$734,177,526120,345,400117,600,00075,050,00063,249,00048,020,00044,800,00044,375,00042,445,15735,896,99832,896,56032,333,40028,848,00023,915,65223,365,00022,490,10821,100,00020,040,00018,801,84518,417,09217,398,09116,842,06516,019,49214,250,00014,238,59414,020,94013,495,60013,471,60013,099,00512,300,00012,273,53711,360,75011,341,70711,000,00010,980,65010,868,77710,484,9399,957,4679,201,0119,150,0009,116,3908,264,8958,000,0007,759,1627,382,5497,374,1247,300,0007,006,9116,552,4666,432,6406,383,1536,231,0006,214,1546,188,0006,169,4776,102,3796,101,4346,064,5186,022,2556,008,0005,831,4965,810,1045,605,7685,481,2055,300,000

New YorkWash., D.C.Bellevue, WASan FranciscoNew YorkNew YorkSan FranciscoNew YorkNorwalk, CTNew YorkNew YorkMinneapolisSan FranciscoBostonBostonNew YorkNew YorkParsippany, NJRaleighNew YorkNew YorkColumbusNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkNorthfieldAtlantaNew YorkNew YorkWash., D.C.San FranciscoSan FranciscoTallahasseeSanta BarbaraNew YorkWash., D.C.BostonMiamiSan JoseMiamiNew YorkSan FranciscoAnnapolisSouthfield, MIWash., D.C.Ardmore, PAAlpharetta, GANew YorkChicagoWaltham, MANew YorkChicagoGrand Rapids, MIBostonWashingtonNew YorkWash., D.C.San FranciscoBostonHoustonMiamiNashvilleDenverNashville

EdelmanAPCO WorldwideWaggener Edstrom CommunicationsW2O GroupRuder FinnMWW Lewis PRFinn PartnersICRZeno GroupDKCPadillaCRTAllison+PartnersRacepoint GlobalRegan Communications GroupGibbs & SoellTaylorCoyne PRFrench | West | VaughanHunter Public RelationsProsek PartnersFahlgren Mortine5W Public RelationsMakovskyPeppercommCooney/Waters GroupSS|PRJackson SpaldingFormula PRRF | Binder PartnersLEVICKSparkprLaunchSquadZimmerman AgencyDaviesKaplowHager SharpRasky Baerlein Strategic CommunicationsJeffrey GroupThe Hoffman AgencyMax Borges AgencyDevelopment Counsellors Int'l (DCI)Horn GroupCrosby Marketing CommunicationsAirfoil Podesta Group Inc.Gregory FCADodge CommunicationsLou Hammond & AssociatesFoodMindsInkhouse Media + MarketingBliss Integrated CommunicationPublic Communications Inc.Lambert, Edwards & Associates360 Public RelationsSpectrumKellen CommunicationsGYMRHighwire PRPAN CommunicationsPierpont Communications, Inc.rbb Public RelationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox Public RelationsLinhart Public RelationsReviveHealth

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.65.


66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78.79.80.81.82.83.84.85.86.87.88.89.90.91.92.93.94.95.96.97.98.99.100.101.102.103.104.105.106.107.108.109.110.111.112.113.114.115.116.117.118.119.120.121.122.123.124.125.126.127.128.129.130.131.

Dye, Van Mol & LawrenceSinger Associates, Inc.Jarrard Phillips Cate & HancockMorganMyersSeven Twenty StrategiesL.C. Williams & AssociatesCooperKatz & Co., Inc.Moore Communications GroupSachs Media GroupBateman GroupIntermarket CommunicationsLANECerrell Associates, Inc.Walker Sands CommunicationsSeigenthaler Public RelationsDukas Public RelationsStanding PartnershipGround Floor MediaNancy J. Friedman Public Relations, Inc.J Public RelationsTrevelino/KellerSchneider AssociatesMarch CommunicationsKonnect Public RelationsRipp Media/Public Relations, Inc.Boardroom Communications, Inc.KyneSPM CommunicationsIW GroupHodges Partnership, TheBeehive PRCashman + Katz Integrated CommunicationsHotwireMaxwell PR + EngagementKohnstamm CommunicationsHope-Beckham, Inc.O’Malley Hansen CommunicationsBLAZEOCG PRPerry Communications Group, Inc.Rosica Trylon SMRNorth 6th Agency, Inc. (N6A)Idea GroveVPE Public RelationsGatesman + DaveTransMedia GroupLandis Communications, Inc.Catapult PR-IRMaccabeeLaVoieHealthScienceRed Sky Public RelationsMarketing Maven Public RelationsK/F CommunicationsBizCom AssociatesWordHampton Public RelationsButler AssociatesBendure CommunicationsThe Buzz AgencyFeintuch CommunicationsLeverage PRWise Public Relations, Inc.Stuntman PRBridge Global StrategiesWeiss PR, Inc.Pulp-PR

NashvilleSan FranciscoBrentwood, TNWaukesha, WIWash., D.C.ChicagoNew YorkTallahasseeTallahasseeSan FranciscoNew YorkPortland, ORLos AngelesChicagoNashvilleNew YorkSt. LouisDenverNew YorkSan DiegoAtlantaBostonBostonLos AngelesNew YorkFt. LauderdaleNew YorkDallasWest HollywoodRichmond, VASt. Paul. MNGlastonbury, CTNew YorkPortland, ORSt. PaulAtlantaChicagoSanta MonicaFt. WorthSacramentoParamus, NJNew YorkNew YorkDallasSouth PasadenaPittsburghBoca Raton, FLSan FranciscoBoulder, COMinneapolisBostonBoiseCamarillo, CASan FranciscoAddison, TXEast Hampton, NYNew YorkMiddleburg, VADelray Beach, FLNew YorkAustinNew YorkNew YorkNew YorkBaltimoreLos Angeles

$5,267,9135,063,3445,054,1635,049,6604,841,4804,659,6674,465,8564,295,5844,245,8634,235,0394,128,3354,109,5614,001,0723,819,1293,810,1353,741,8093,704,0653,570,9563,332,8003,308,0052,751,5952,689,8192,623,7502,341,6032,325,4922,300,0002,249,8442,098,3652,095,0001,969,6501,947,2661,865,0001,815,5991,769,1891,720,4801,656,0001,650,0001,589,1001,568,7321,543,8581,514,4651,496,8941,484,0001,435,9851,425,4341,400,0001,345,1451,200,0001,095,7851,049,9851,010,6061,005,511934,859921,034892,914845,250804,374723,439706,795643,515586,076586,000511,450500,667403,607374,886

5317223531303023222616222243271727152129171823268

137

1912179

2415151414111012121059

18124312109468

119686544533434

even+3.3+3.9+8.0-11.0+5.8-3.4

+24.0-2.3

+42.4-4.2+3.6-11.2+35.9+1.3+7.0-9.6+6.0

+10.6+26.0+4.7-8.1

+22.0+90.0+13.0+4.5+4.0

+21.9+2.0

+12.9-1.7

+17.0+200.0

+3.1-26.7+20.7-16.4+22.0+9.0

+44.0-30.0-9.0

+25.0+51.8-1.9

+31.0+17.7+10.0even-14.0-5.0

-10.8+32.9-14.0+3.7-4.6-6.0

-18.0+19.3+4.9

+186.0+17.5+35.2-5.6+5.6

+222.0


LEADING GAINERS AMONG PR FIRMSFirm 2013 Net Fees Employees % Change from 2012

Firms in the top 25

Firms ranked 26 through 50



1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

Zeno GroupFinn PartnersFahlgren MortineLewis PRHunter PRAllison+PartnersW2O GroupICRProsek PartnersGibbs & Soell

New YorkNew YorkColumbusSan FranciscoNew YorkSan FranciscoSan FranciscoNorwalk, CTNew YorkNew York

35,896,99844,375,00016,842,06544,800,00018,417,09228,848,00075,050,00042,445,15717,398,09122,490,108

2562879740710816537311968127

+43.7+37.0+35.9+26.6+26.5+25.5+21.0+16.0+15.8+14.0

Hager SharpFoodMindsDodge CommunicationsMax Borges AgencyLaunchSquadPodesta Group Inc.Jeffrey GroupLevick Strategic Comms.Jackson SpaldingThe Hoffman Agency

Wash., D.C.ChicagoAlpharetta, GAMiamiSan FranciscoWash., D.C.MiamiWash., D.C.AtlantaSan Jose, CA

10,484,9396,432,6407,006,9119,116,39011,341,7077,374,1249,201,01112,273,53713,471,6009,150,000

652346519618107439323

+47.0+32.0+27.0+23.0+20.8+20.0+16.0+13.7+11.0+10.0

HotwireKonnect Public RelationsHighwire PRInkhouse Media + MarketingBateman GroupWalker Sands Comms.360 Public RelationsJ Public RelationsMoore Communications GroupSPM Communications

New YorkLos AngelesSan FranciscoWaltham, MASan FranciscoChicagoBostonSan DiegoTallahasseeDallas

1,815,5992,341,6036,022,2556,383,1534,235,0393,819,1296,169,4773,308,0054,295,5842,098,365

15264640264338292319

+200.0+90.0+47.0+43.0+42.4+35.9+30.0+26.0+24.0+21.9

Pulp-PRLeverage PRIdea GrovePerry Communications GroupStuntman PRMarketing Maven PRGatesman + DaveNorth 6th Agency (N6A)BLAZEThe Buzz Agency

Los AngelesAustinDallasSacramentoNew YorkCamarillo, CAPittsburghNew YorkSanta MonicaDelray Beach, FL

374,886586,0761,435,9851,543,858511,450934,8591,400,0001,484,0001,589,100706,795

451812311439104

+222.0+186.0+51.8+44.0+35.2+32.9+31.0+25.0+22.0+19.3

$

$

$

$



LEADING GAINERS AMONG PR FIRMSFirm 2013 Net Fees Employees % Change from 2012

Firms in the top 25




1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

Zeno GroupFinn PartnersFahlgren MortineLewis PRHunter PRAllison+PartnersW2O GroupICRProsek PartnersGibbs & Soell

New YorkNew YorkColumbusSan FranciscoNew YorkSan FranciscoSan FranciscoNorwalk, CTNew YorkNew York

35,896,99844,375,00016,842,06544,800,00018,417,09228,848,00075,050,00042,445,15717,398,09122,490,108

2562879740710816537311968127

+43.7+37.0+35.9+26.6+26.5+25.5+21.0+16.0+15.8+14.0

Hager SharpFoodMindsDodge CommunicationsMax Borges AgencyLaunchSquadPodesta Group Inc.Jeffrey GroupLevick Strategic Comms.Jackson SpaldingThe Hoffman Agency

Wash., D.C.ChicagoAlpharetta, GAMiamiSan FranciscoWash., D.C.MiamiWash., D.C.AtlantaSan Jose, CA

10,484,9396,432,6407,006,9119,116,39011,341,7077,374,1249,201,01112,273,53713,471,6009,150,000

652346519618107439323

+47.0+32.0+27.0+23.0+20.8+20.0+16.0+13.7+11.0+10.0

HotwireKonnect Public RelationsHighwire PRInkhouse Media + MarketingBateman GroupWalker Sands Comms.360 Public RelationsJ Public RelationsMoore Communications GroupSPM Communications

New YorkLos AngelesSan FranciscoWaltham, MASan FranciscoChicagoBostonSan DiegoTallahasseeDallas

1,815,5992,341,6036,022,2556,383,1534,235,0393,819,1296,169,4773,308,0054,295,5842,098,365

15264640264338292319

+200.0+90.0+47.0+43.0+42.4+35.9+30.0+26.0+24.0+21.9

Pulp-PRLeverage PRIdea GrovePerry Communications GroupStuntman PRMarketing Maven PRGatesman + DaveNorth 6th Agency (N6A)BLAZEThe Buzz Agency

Los AngelesAustinDallasSacramentoNew YorkCamarillo, CAPittsburghNew YorkSanta MonicaDelray Beach, FL

374,886586,0761,435,9851,543,858511,450934,8591,400,0001,484,0001,589,100706,795

451812311439104

+222.0+186.0+51.8+44.0+35.2+32.9+31.0+25.0+22.0+19.3

$

$

$

$


RANKINGS OF PR FIRMS BY CITY/GEOGRAPHYFirm Firm2013 Net Fees 2013 Net Fees Empl.Empl.

ICRCashman+ Katz Int. Comms.

1.2.

$25,639,8201,865,000

5624

EdelmanSS|PRZeno GroupFoodMindsPublic Communications Inc.Finn PartnersL.C. Williams & AssociatesWalker Sands Comms.APCO WorldwideMWW GroupO’Malley Hansen Comms.TaylorAllison+Partners

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.

$96,062,03913,495,60010,924,0986,432,6406,214,1544,748,0004,659,6673,819,1292,128,1001,740,0001,650,0001,005,880778,000

61370502349253043671145

Zimmerman AgencyJeffrey GroupMax Borges Agencyrbb Public RelationsMoore Comms. GroupSachs Media GroupBoardroom Comms.EdelmanTransMedia GroupFinn PartnersThe Buzz Agency

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.

$11,000,0009,201,0119,116,3905,810,1044,295,5844,245,8632,300,0001,416,8291,345,145928,000706,795

46107513323221311294

EdelmanDaviesZeno GroupFinn PartnersCerrell AssociatesMWW W2O GroupICRKonnect Public RelationsAllison+PartnersIW GroupJ Public RelationsBLAZEVPE Public RelationsMarketing Maven PRPulp-PRTaylor

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.

$14,834,37410,980,6505,440,3385,149,0004,001,0723,361,0003,018,0972,647,3772,341,6032,100,0002,095,0002,019,7341,589,1001,425,434934,859374,886367,625

13035232922151592618121910121142

Racepoint GlobalRegan Communications GroupRasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.Inkhouse Media + Marketing360 Public RelationsPAN CommunicationsICRSchneider AssociatesMarch Communications

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

$23,915,65223,365,0009,957,4676,383,1536,169,4776,008,0004,252,5572,689,8192,623,750

1748538403848111823

CONNECTICUT

CHICAGO

FLORIDA

LOS ANGELES

BOSTON

PadillaCRTFahlgren MortineAirfoil Lambert, Edwards + Assocs.MorganMyersStanding PartnershipBeehive PRKohnstamm Comms.MorganMyersMaccabeeW2O Group

$18,129,30016,842,0657,382,5496,188,0003,912,0983,704,0651,947,2661,720,4801,137,5611,049,985603,619

10097594030279

14543

EdelmanRuder FinnMWW W2O GroupDKCGibbs & SoellFinn PartnersCoyne PRHunter PRProsek Partners5W Public RelationsMakovskyCooney/Waters GroupPeppercommTaylorRF | Binder PartnersAPCO WorldwideKaplowAllison+PartnersICRDevelopment Counsellors Int’lZeno GroupLou Hammond & AssociatesBliss Integrated CommunicationKellen CommunicationsCooperKatz & Co.Intermarket CommunicationsDukas Public RelationsNancy J. Friedman PRRipp Media/Public RelationsKyne PadillaCRTHotwireRosica Trylon SMRNorth 6th Agency (N6A)J Public RelationsWordHampton PRButler AssociatesFeintuch CommunicationsWise Public RelationsStuntman PRBridge Global Strategies

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.

$157,471,82337,024,00033,414,80033,199,06232,896,56022,490,10820,891,00020,040,00018,417,09217,398,09116,019,49214,250,00014,020,94013,050,07412,562,24711,200,00011,185,50010,868,77710,100,0009,905,4048,264,8957,110,7226,552,4666,231,0006,101,4344,465,8564,128,3353,741,8093,332,8002,325,4922,249,8441,934,5461,815,5991,514,4651,496,8941,484,0001,288,270845,250804,374643,515586,000511,450500,667

78019914816517112716013310868

10555508166684666454350324037393016172187

24151059

10864334

MIDWEST CITIES

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.

Parsippany

Paramus

East Hampton

MinneapolisColumbusSouthfieldGrand RapidsWaukeshaSt. LouisSt. PaulSt. PaulWaterlooMinneapolisMinneapolis

NorwalkGlastonbury

Northfield

Santa BarbaraSanta Monica

W. HollywoodSan DiegoSanta MonicaS. PasadenaCamarillo

TallahasseeMiamiMiamiMiamiTallahasseeTallahasseeFt. LauderdaleOrlandoBoca RatonFt. LauderdaleDelray Beach

Waltham

RF | Binder PartnersLaVoieHealthScience

10.11.

$1,100,0001,010,606

86




ICRCashman+ Katz Int. Comms.

1.2.

$25,639,8201,865,000

5624

EdelmanSS|PRZeno GroupFoodMindsPublic Communications Inc.Finn PartnersL.C. Williams & AssociatesWalker Sands Comms.APCO WorldwideMWW GroupO’Malley Hansen Comms.TaylorAllison+Partners

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.

$96,062,03913,495,60010,924,0986,432,6406,214,1544,748,0004,659,6673,819,1292,128,1001,740,0001,650,0001,005,880778,000

61370502349253043671145

Zimmerman AgencyJeffrey GroupMax Borges Agencyrbb Public RelationsMoore Comms. GroupSachs Media GroupBoardroom Comms.EdelmanTransMedia GroupFinn PartnersThe Buzz Agency

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.

$11,000,0009,201,0119,116,3905,810,1044,295,5844,245,8632,300,0001,416,8291,345,145928,000706,795

46107513323221311294

EdelmanDaviesZeno GroupFinn PartnersCerrell AssociatesMWW W2O GroupICRKonnect Public RelationsAllison+PartnersIW GroupJ Public RelationsBLAZEVPE Public RelationsMarketing Maven PRPulp-PRTaylor

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.

$14,834,37410,980,6505,440,3385,149,0004,001,0723,361,0003,018,0972,647,3772,341,6032,100,0002,095,0002,019,7341,589,1001,425,434934,859374,886367,625

13035232922151592618121910121142

Racepoint GlobalRegan Communications GroupRasky Baerlein Strategic Comms.Inkhouse Media + Marketing360 Public RelationsPAN CommunicationsICRSchneider AssociatesMarch Communications

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PadillaCRTFahlgren MortineAirfoil Lambert, Edwards + Assocs.MorganMyersStanding PartnershipBeehive PRKohnstamm Comms.MorganMyersMaccabeeW2O Group

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10097594030279

14543

EdelmanRuder FinnMWW W2O GroupDKCGibbs & SoellFinn PartnersCoyne PRHunter PRProsek Partners5W Public RelationsMakovskyCooney/Waters GroupPeppercommTaylorRF | Binder PartnersAPCO WorldwideKaplowAllison+PartnersICRDevelopment Counsellors Int’lZeno GroupLou Hammond & AssociatesBliss Integrated CommunicationKellen CommunicationsCooperKatz & Co.Intermarket CommunicationsDukas Public RelationsNancy J. Friedman PRRipp Media/Public RelationsKyne PadillaCRTHotwireRosica Trylon SMRNorth 6th Agency (N6A)J Public RelationsWordHampton PRButler AssociatesFeintuch CommunicationsWise Public RelationsStuntman PRBridge Global Strategies

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.

$157,471,82337,024,00033,414,80033,199,06232,896,56022,490,10820,891,00020,040,00018,417,09217,398,09116,019,49214,250,00014,020,94013,050,07412,562,24711,200,00011,185,50010,868,77710,100,0009,905,4048,264,8957,110,7226,552,4666,231,0006,101,4344,465,8564,128,3353,741,8093,332,8002,325,4922,249,8441,934,5461,815,5991,514,4651,496,8941,484,0001,288,270845,250804,374643,515586,000511,450500,667

78019914816517112716013310868

10555508166684666454350324037393016172187

24151059

10864334

MIDWEST CITIES

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY

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NorwalkGlastonbury

Northfield

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W. HollywoodSan DiegoSanta MonicaS. PasadenaCamarillo

TallahasseeMiamiMiamiMiamiTallahasseeTallahasseeFt. LauderdaleOrlandoBoca RatonFt. LauderdaleDelray Beach

Waltham

RF | Binder PartnersLaVoieHealthScience

10.11.

$1,100,0001,010,606

86



Gregory FCAGatesman + Dave

1.2.

$7,300,0001,400,000

4243

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.

$18,801,84514,376,15213,471,60012,269,5547,164,2487,006,9115,605,7685,300,0005,267,9135,054,1633,810,1352,751,5951,969,6501,900,0001,656,000586,076

89104

9348334652245322271717

814

5

W2O GroupEdelmanPierpont Comms.MWW GroupSPM Comms.OCG PRIdea Grove

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

$21,529,08810,742,9925,831,4963,241,6002,098,3651,568,7321,435,985

107663015191218

Lewis PREdelman W2O GroupSparkPRLaunchSquadEdelmanThe Hoffman AgencyHorn GroupAllison+PartnersHighwire PRSinger AssociatesZeno GroupEdelmanAPCO WorldwideFinn PartnersAPCO WorldwidePerry Comms. GroupMWW GroupLandis CommunicationsPeppercommRuder Finn

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.

$44,800,00020,409,31716,700,13411,360,75011,341,70710,074,5649,150,0008,000,0006,600,0006,022,2555,063,3444,660,2553,449,3362,708,2002,444,0002,277,3001,543,8581,360,2001,200,0001,188,520420,000

407103

834896

1352345384617221611181012

810

43

French | West | VaughanEdelmanJackson SpaldingPadillaCRTTaylorDodge CommunicationsMcNeely Pigott & Fox PRReviveHealthDye, Van Mol & LawrenceJarrard Phillips Cate& HancockSeigenthaler Public RelationsTrevelino/KellerHodges Partnership, TheAllison+PartnersHope-BeckhamLeverage PR

PENNSYLVANIA

SOUTHEAST

TEXAS

SAN FRANCISCO & NORTH CALIFORNIA EdelmanAPCO WorldwideLevick Strategic Comms.Hager SharpFinn PartnersCrosby Marketing Comms.Podesta Group Inc.SpectrumGYMRSeven Twenty StrategiesMWW Allison+PartnersBendure CommunicationsWeiss PR

$60,549,16055,417,50012,273,53710,484,9398,960,0007,759,1627,374,1246,102,3796,064,5184,841,4803,511,4001,200,000723,439403,607

270209

436546431831303114

953

Waggener Edstrom WorldwideEdelmanEdelmanLinhart Public RelationsAllison+PartnersBateman GroupLANEGroundFloor MediaAPCO WorldwideMaxwell PR + EngagementAllison+PartnersCatapult PR-IRRed Sky PRAllison+Partners

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.

BellevueSeattlePortlandDenverPhoenixSan FranciscoPortlandDenverSeatlePortlandSan DiegoBoulderBoiseSeattle

819136

4431242622151315

8985

WASHINGTON, D.C.

WESTERN CITIES

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.

LIST OF MAJOR HOLDING COMPANIESAND THEIR PR SUBSIDIES

8.9.

BizCom AssociatesAllison+Partners

$892,914832,792

65

$117,600,00048,236,6655,821,5005,481,2054,300,0004,235,0394,109,5613,570,9562,898,2001,769,1891,400,0001,095,7851,005,511537,729

Annapolis

Middleburg, VABaltimore

AustinAustin, Dallas, HoustonAustin, Dallas, HoustonDallasDallasFt. WorthDallas

AddisonDallas

RaleighAtlantaAtlantaRichmondCharlotteAlpharettaNashvilleNashvilleNashvilleBrentwoodNashvilleAtlantaRichmondAtlantaAtlantaAustin

San Mateo

San Jose

Silicon ValleySacramentoSacramento

Sacramento

ArdmorePittsburgh

Havas: Abernathy McGregorGroup, Arnold Worldwide, EuroRSCG Worldwide.

Huntsworth: Citigate, Grayling,Huntsworth Health, Red.

Interpublic Goup: CarmichaelLynch Spong, Current, DeVriesPublic Relations, GolinHarris, IWGroup, Mullen, PMK*BNC, Roger& Cowan, SiboneyUSA, Tierney,Weber Shandwick.

MDC Partners: Allison+Partners,Exponent, Kwitten + Co., Lime PR+ Promotion, Sloane & Co., VeritasCommunications.

Next Fifteen CommunicationsGroup: 463 Communications, The

Blueshirt Group, Bite Communica-tions, Lexis, M Booth, OutCastCommunications, Text 100.

The Omnicom Group: BrodeurWorldwide, Clark & Weinstock,Cone, Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum,Kreab Gavin Anderson, PorterNovelli.

Publicis Group: Kekst & Co.,MSLGroup, MSLGroup Qorvis,Publicis Consultants, Winner & As-sociates.

WPP: Blanc & Otus, Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe, FoodGroup, Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy PRWorldwide, Prime Policy Group,Public Strategies, Robinson Lere &Montgomery, Wexler & Walker.



FEATURE


U.K. writer George Brock, author ofOut of Print, a 242-page expres-sion of hope for journalism,

addressed a youthful audience of morethan 100 on the topic: “Journalism:Bullish on the Future.”

Panelist Steve Waldman, formerly withUS News & World Report and Newsweekand Senior Advisor to the Chairman of theFCC, said he looks forward to the daywhen sites like BuzzFeed gives “its guy inKabul” as much play as it does to the lat-est cats video that cost three cents to pro-duce and gets “zillions” of viewers.

BuzzFeed, based in New York, is sup-ported by $46 million in venture capital.With additional offices in Los Angeles,Washington, D.C., San Francisco,Chicago, London and Sydney, BuzzFeed’s

newsroom employs about 160 reportersand editors.

“Drawing audience is the main game ofBuzzFeed writers, BuzzFeed ManagingEditorial Director Summer Anne Burtontold CJF Reporter Marc Fisher: “The goalis the same whether you’re writing aboutbig butts or Bill Gates. You have to writewhat people want to read.”

Needless to say, traditional journalistsare alarmed that the value of their outputshould depend solely on audience pull.Among them is Harper’s columnistThomas Frank who feels journalists arebeing reduced to itinerant day laborerswho get paid according to how manyberries they pick.

The “content mills” being run by pub-lishers such as Demand Media are “aninventive way to minimize labor costs —

a temp agency for writers, a literarymaquiladora,” said Frank. Numerousmedia including USA Today are buildingan “army of freelancers” to keep costs to aminimum.Forbes Contributing Editor Max Robins

said Forbes now pays him based on howmany clicks his articles draw.

Kinsley: national papers will survivePolitical writer Michael Kinsley, in a

debut column in Vanity Fair, said mostlocal newspapers are not “very good” andthat national newspapers like New YorkTimes and USA Today, which “everyonecan read,” will survive.

Kinsley, whose work has appeared inthe Washington Post, New Republic,Harper’s and other media, says there isstill a demand for excellentreporting which can be supplied by thenational papers.

Local papers, which had monopolies,lost it when the web came along because,“Instead of being the only newspaper intown, every English-language daily in theworld is competing with every other one,”he wrote. £

Panel: web journalism won’t replace lost print jobsScores of newspaper jobs have been lost in the U.S. and thisdownslide will continue, according to a March 22 NYU panel ofjournalists hosted by the Center for Communication. However,online sites such as BuzzFeed, Gawker, Gothamist and otherswill fill some of the gap, although many attempts at onlinejournalism will fail.

By Jack O’Dwyer



FEATURE

In 2009 I was diagnosed with stage 2Abreast cancer. I discovered the lump inmy breast during a business trip to

Tuscany in August, and by September —my busiest time of the year — I was fac-ing a double mastectomy. As the owner ofa small agency specializing in wine andfood marketing and events, I realized I hadto look after not only my own health andwell-being but also that of my company.

Facing months of surgeries and absoluteuncertainty regarding how my mind andbody would respond, I needed to have asolid plan in place. The fact is, many of theskills I developed as a public relationsagency owner helped me manage my can-cer diagnosis: the strategist in me assem-bled the right experts for the bestadvice; the event planner in me made liststo stay organized; the communicator in mecrafted the messages I wanted to convey tothe people in my life. In short, I turned tomy public relations training to launch mycancer communications plan.

I assigned a spokesperson. In this case itwas my husband and business partner,David, who also served as my caregiver.

I prepared a statement to give to thefriends and family I notified.

I prepared a second statement to presentto my small staff to reassure them that itwas business as usual and that I would bethere for them. In return, I was counting onthem to support me at this challengingtime with their hard work, loyalty and con-fidentiality.

I prepared key message points to consis-tently deliver to anyone asking about mycondition.

I made a backup plan, in case I neededto re-appoint and re-assign teams to dealwith clients and vendors.

I assembled the best advisory counsel toguide me through the process. This includ-ed not only my oncology and surgery spe-cialists but also my dentist, dermatologist,a nutritionist and wig and makeup advi-sors so I could be prepared to deal with thechanges in both my strength and appear-ance. I wanted to look and feel my bestand be prepared to deal with side effectsfrom treatment.

I debated whether to inform my clientsand decided against it. As the “name on

the door,” I feared that clients woulddefect or that new business opportunitieswould dry up, or competitors would poachstaff or clients (sadly, I witnessed this withother colleagues facing a major illness). Iforged ahead, business as usual.

I pitched new business two hours beforeI started my first chemotherapy treatment.I gamely produced wine and food eventsin New York and Chicago even though Icould not eat or drink what we served. Ianswered client emails with an I.V. needlein my arm and learned to re-arrange myschedule so that my best work was done inthe morning when I was more energetic.My father died just after my second sur-gery. Wearing a jacket covering the tubeshanging from my chest, I presented a planto a prospective client the night beforeleaving for my father’s funeral because noother time was convenient for the prospec-tive client and his team.

When it comes to the public relationsprofession, we’re the first to be called fordamage control when the media startspouncing on our clients, yet, we’re the firstto be let go when our clients’ businessesfalter or when new leadership seeks “a dif-ferent direction.” Prospects ask to pick mybrain for ideas when I pitch their business,yet I cannot begin to tell you the numberof times no one bothers to pick up thephone to inform me they didn’t pick us forthe assignment. We’re the first to beblamed when something goes wrong andthe last to be thanked when somethinggoes right.

Public relations is, among other things,about building and communicating animage for a brand or entity. But I think thepublic relations profession needs to bur-nish its own image. Good public relationspros are trained writers, skilled communi-cators, smart strategists and creativethinkers. We can spin a story or an entirecampaign from just threads of informa-tion. We develop strong stamina from thelong hours, thick skin from the rejectionsand a healthy sense of humor to offsetstress.

After keeping my cancer diagnosisclose to my chest for nearly two years, Idecided I no longer wanted to hide thischapter of my life. I wanted to use myexperience to help others face their diag-

nosis with focus and confidence. I cameout of my cancer closet with a blog called“Getting Things Off My Chest.” InSeptember 2013, I published GettingThings Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guideto Staying Fearless & Fabulous in theFace of Breast Cancer. It’s a great bookfor anyone who wants to know what ques-tions to ask, how to make informed deci-sions and how to look and feel your best.My work tactic of putting everything intochecklists is reflected in the book.

As word traveled inmy business circlesthat I had survived can-cer, the response wasmixed. Most clientswere very supportive,though some com-ments were strange.One said to me, “I wishyou had told me whatyou were goingthrough. I would havebeen nicer to you.” My response was, “Youshould have been nice to me all along.”

Some colleagues quietly took me asideand shared their own battles with cancer.

Still, and sadly, others disappeared frommy life, as if having cancer were conta-gious. I don’t really know why they driftedaway, because having cancer did notchange my professional skills or render medisabled. Someone told me to take my can-cer book off my C.V. and LinkedIn biogra-phy. He said, “People may see you as dam-aged goods.” I responded, “Surviving can-cer made me stronger, gave me more clari-ty and better compassion for human needsand values. These have helped me to bebetter at what I do.”

I work in an industry that tests yourskills, stretches your creativity, and can dosome good for the community and numer-ous causes. What I learned from the expe-rience is to be fearless, have a communica-tions plan and strong messaging during andafter your experience. My final message toanyone who sees me or anyone else whosurvived cancer as “damaged goods” isthis: get a new pair of glasses and adjustyour vision on how your see the world.Melanie Young is Chief Connector of

The Connected Table. She is the author of“Getting Things Off My Chest: ASurvivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless &Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer”(Cedar Fort Inc./2013) and the upcoming“Fearless Fabulous YOU!” (CedarFort/Fall 2013). £

Crisis hits home: when PR gets personal

By Melanie Young

Melanie Young

Public relations professionals are trained to teach their clientshow to manage a crisis, but how many agency owners have aninternal management and succession plan ready in the event thata personal crisis happens to them?



FEATURE

Imagine you’re a traffic cop responsi-ble for directing cars around a thor-oughfare. For the sake of the exer-

cise, we’ll call this thoroughfare“Engagement Circle.”

As a communicator, it’s your job toensure that two things don’t happen andthat one thing does. First, some mes-sages traveling on that street willbypass others. As a result, the client’saudience never sees or hears whatyou’ve been paid to ensure they do.Moreover, some messages are inmotion to have a head-on collision withprospective end users of another. That’smost assuredly not what you were hiredto do.

Now, let’s look at what a properlytrained — and traffic-sensitive — com-munications pro should assure happensat this thoroughfare of information.

Assuring engagementBecause you’ve carefully analyzed

exactly what the client wants to com-municate — you’ve listened to the“who,” “what,” “when,” “where,”“why” and “how” regarding the audi-ence’s engagement with the message —you’ve done what all communicationspractitioners must do: you’ve trans-formed yourself into an advocate fordrivers speeding toward that thorough-fare called Engagement Circle.

Too many blindly accept the marketresearch provided by their clients asgospel truth. While it’s most certainlyfact-based, research should no longerbe seen as the end-all-be-all. That’sbecause audiences are now in the dri-ver’s seat when it comes to the buyingdecision. And, while the client may befooting the bill, you should see yourselfas an advocate for the audience as well.

Walking the beatThat means doing a whole lot more

than just listening to what audiencessay on popular social media channels. Italso means doing more than sittingbehind a one-way mirror and listeningto a focus group explain why they do,or don’t, like a chocolate-flavored

toothpaste for toddlers. It means taking the time to put your-

self in the shoes of the audience andexperiencing your client’s online andoffline product or service first-hand.See if the messaging and brand promis-es you’ve been told to publicize are, infact, what really happens on the retailstore floor, in a car dealership or on theclient’s million dollar website.

The odds are good you’ll find somegaps between the client promises andthe actual end-user experience. Allowme to illustrate two examples from dif-ferent industries:

United Airlines is the CumberlandGap when it comes to sending one mes-sage in marketing and delivering a verydifferent experience in real life. First,view their 30-second commercial aboutthe friendly skies. Now, review theAirline Quality Rating of America’sTop 15 carriers. United ranks number12.

I fly United Airlines on a far-too-reg-ular basis. I can tell you there’s nothingfriendly about those skies. In fact, amechanical delay cost me seven pre-cious hours recently in Las Vegas. But,that experience did provide me with anew, site-specific tagline for the carrier:“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,especially when you fly United.”

Compare United’s messaging andexperience with that of JetBlue’s. In thesame Airline Quality Rating, JetBluefinished second. Their advertising cam-paign is the first I can recall that accu-rately describes how truly heinous air-line flying has become, and how hardJetBlue aspires to bring humanity backto the experience.

McDonald’s slogan is, “I’m lovin’it.” Their latest TV spot features “King”James LeBron ordering a new, horrifi-cally unhealthy bacon club burger atsome sort of exclusive McDonald’sClub.

The “I’m lovin’ it” tagline may be theworst in recent memory. AreMcDonald’s patrons lovin’ cloggedarteries, diabetes, or stroke?

Now contrast McDonald’s fauxfriendly, happy-go-lucky, Disneyworld-like messaging withthat of Arizona’sHeart Attack Grill.Personally, I findthe Heart AttackGrill’s businessmodel offensive.But, I respect theirauthenticity inaligning the mes-saging with theactual customerexperience.

The Heart Attack Grill not only offerssuch items as the Triple Bypass burger,but features waitresses dressed as nurs-es, gurneys and a real hospital ambu-lance waiting outside the restaurant. Infact, their corpulent corporatespokesperson actually dropped dead ofa heart attack not too long ago.

While it’s sad to say, The HeartAttack Grill’s communications policerun rings around their competitors atMcDonald’s when it comes to ensuringthe proper message meets the rightaudience in exactly the right place.

Be an advocateDo yourself, your agency and your

client a favor: push back on theresearch that’s being handed over toyou. Tell them you’d like to be an advo-cate and not an order-taker.

The future belongs to the PR, adver-tising, interactive or word-of-mouthprofessional who sees herself less as astrategist/tactician and more as a plain,old cop who has taken the time to studytraffic patterns leading towardsEngagement Circle. A true advocateknows exactly what messages will res-onate, and which channels throughwhich audiences will be willing toengage.

Advocate in this way on an ongoingbasis, and I guarantee a bright future foryou, whether it’s in marketing, PR, lawenforcement or the friendly skies.Steve Cody is Co-Founder and CEO

of Peppercomm, Inc. £

Why brand advocates do more than take orders

By Steve Cody

Steve Cody

Engaging audiences involves much more than simply monitoring social media channels, orlistening to focus groups, or gauging marketing research. Real engagement involves takingthe time to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. It’s a process of experiencing clients’products and services first-hand.


Why brand advocates do more than take orders


MAY 2014 4 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 4 ADVERTISING SECTION58

TOP INDEPENDENT PR FIRMSO’Dwyer’sguide to:

5W PUBLIC RELATIONS

1166 Ave. of the Americas, 4th Flr.New York, NY 10036212/999-5585Fax: 646/[email protected]

Ronn D. Torossian, Presidentand CEODon McIver, COOErika Kauffman, Exec. VP &Group DirectorJuda Engelmayer and SusanWeingram, Senior VPs

5W Public Relations (5WPR)helps some of the world’s mostadmired brands, corporations,issues and personalities reach newheights. Whatever the goal – movepeople to action, change opinions,help an idea catch fire, dominate amarket – our team of 100+ profes-sionals know how to engage thepeople who matter most to yourbusiness through sophisticated pro-grams that capture attention in acrowded, distracted world.

Our confident, resourceful andthoroughly modern approach tocommunications helps some of themost respected names in B2C(Beauty & Fashion, ConsumerBrands, Entertainment, Food &Beverage, Health & Wellness,Technology, Travel & Hospitality),B2B (Corporate Communications,Reputation Management, CSR,

Sustainability Communications),Public Affairs, GovernmentRelations and CrisisCommunications move their busi-nesses forward.

Founded in 2003 with offices inNew York and Los Angeles, 5WPR has been named to the Inc 500and earned the Gold Stevie® Awardfor PR Agency of the Year. As amid-sized agency, we’re able tooffer clients the reach of a globalleader with the responsiveness andexpertise of a specialist firm. Findout what makes up 5W’s DNA:Real. Resourceful. Results.

Clients: 1800 Tequila,Aerosoles, Ader InvestmentManagement, Adtech, All-CladMetalcrafters, Barnes &Noble.com, Beyond the Rack,Beyond Verbal, Bizzabo,BornFree, Bowery House,Carrington Farms, Camp BowWow, CheapOAir.com, Decléor,DigitalOcean, Donald J Pliner,Duane Reade, Dr. Yan Trokel, Dr.Kent Holtorf, Empire GovernmentStrategies, EyeTrackShop, FST21,Gray Line New York, GoHealth,Harrah’s, Iberia Foods, IHOP,IMUSA USA, Jane Iredale,KRUPS, Lance’s Snacks,Lifestyles Condoms, LoewsHotels, McDonald’s, Medifast,Millenium Hotels,MyRegistry.com, NICE Systems,One Hour Translation, PatinaRestaurant Group, PeekYou, PhilipStein, Potatopia, Pressels, Rokkan,Roomer, Sparkling Ice by TalkingRain, Sure Fit, T-Fal, The Jackie

Robinson Foundation, TheNational Law Enforcement andFirefighter’s Children’sFoundation, The New JerseyChamber of Commerce, TheOriginal SoupMan, The PeeblesCorp., Three Olives Vodka, VoicesAgainst Brain Cancer, WestminsterKennel Club, Whole FoodsMarket, and Zeta Interactive.

BATEMAN GROUP

1550 Bryant St., #300San Francisco, CA 94103415/503-1818Fax: 415/503-1880info@bateman-group.comwww.bateman-group.comwww.batemanbanter.com

20 Jay St., #1005Brooklyn, NY 11201718/576-2463

Fred Bateman, CEO and FounderBill Bourdon, Partner & Gen. Mgr.Tyler Perry, Partner & Gen. Mgr.Syreeta Mussante, Sr. VPShannon Hutto, PaulaCavagnaro, VPsElinor Mills, VP of ContentScott Martin, Dir. of ContentRod McLeod, Mina Manchester,Elissa Ehrlich, Acct. Dirs.Sara Fastenberg, Kerry Tescher,Matt Coolidge, Acct. Mgrs.

Bateman Group is an integratedpublic relations and social mediacommunications firm founded in2004 around a compelling vision— to make a bigger market impactfor a more select group of compa-nies. Our ideal clients are compa-nies, regardless of size, solvingreal problems in ground-breakingand sometimes disruptive waysthat value content expertise, excep-tional writing and guaranteed sen-ior-level attention from their com-munications partner above all else.Based in San Francisco withoffices in New York City, BatemanGroup set out to be distinctivethrough its approach to planning,ability to deliver excellent results,pursuit of client satisfaction andcreative program execution.Fundamentally, Bateman Group isabout accountability. We under-stand that a well-developed com-munications strategy is useless ifmeasurable returns cannot be real-ized. We insist on correlating everyclient’s investment with their bot-tom line returns, such as improvedstock valuation, market share gains

and increased revenue. BatemanGroup has maintained 95 percentemployee retention since its incep-tion 10 years ago and the averageclient relationship is 4.5 years.Recent award wins include a 2013PR News Top Places to Work in PRand the 2013 Bulldog All StarsGrand Prize for Agency of theYear.

Clients: AdRoll, Animoto, AppAnnie, Apprenda, Baynote,Bunchball, Clari, Code42,EchoUser, Get Satisfaction,LightSpeed, Netskope, PingIdentity, Pure Storage, Qualys,Quri, Recyclebank, Sitecore,Tidemark, and Virtustream.

BEEHIVE PR

1021 Bandana Blvd. E., Suite 226St. Paul, MN 55108651/789-2232www.beehivepr.biz

Lisa Hannum, President & CEONicki Gibbs, Vice PresidentAyme Zemke, Vice President

Beehive PR is a boutique,strategic communications firmwith a reputation for freshinsights, big ideas, contagiousenergy and brilliant results. Ourteam of senior strategists anddigital, social and design special-ists is focused on creating bold,positive growth for brands.

When strategy, creativity andpartnership come together magichappens. New thinking and bigideas create energy and gain sup-port. Brands, influencers andcustomers connect. Momentumbuilds. Here are a few of our fea-tured services: content market-ing, crisis communications, digi-tal marketing, education andadvocacy, employee engagement,media and influencer relations,mergers and acquisitions, move-ments and cause marketing,social media communities, spon-sorship activation, and web andmobile.

Beehive PR has deep expertisein a range of global and nicheindustries: retail, beauty andfashion, food and beverage, con-sumer technology, sports andleisure, professional services,financial services, education,medical technology, healthcare,manufacturing and commercialreal estate.

The Bateman team (from L to R): Bill Bourdon, Partner and GeneralManager of Bateman's San Francisco office; Fred Bateman, CEO andFounder; and Tyler Perry, Partner and General Manager of Bateman'sNew York City office.



ADVERTISING SECTION 3 MAY 2014 3 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 59

CATAPULT PR-IRLLC

6560 Gunpark Dr., Suite CBoulder, CO 80301303/581-7760Fax: 303/[email protected]

Ranked the leading technologyPR agency in Colorado, Catapulthelps B-2-B technology compa-nies establish market-leadingpositions through focused posi-tioning and messaging, market-changing strategies and aggres-sive media, industry analyst andsocial media programs.

Catapult's differentiator is itsexperience, market knowledgeand partner-level involvement inall aspects of its client service.The PR strategies it developsoften transform into businessstrategies that become a catalystfor true market leadership andaccelerated growth. In manycases, Catapult clients, regardlessof their size, become drivingforces within their markets anddisrupt industry norms.

Catapult's mix of experienceand tenacious execution are thereason many of its client engage-ments continue for many years.The firms’ personal service, sen-ior-level account involvementand strategic results-orientedapproach make it the smartchoice for any tech firm — fromstartups to mature companies —that value PR and want it to drivetheir business success.

Clients include: ALM Forum,CollabNet, CodeFutures,CrowdIt, Electric Cloud,FreeWave Technologies andInovonics.

CERRELL ASSOCIATES, INC.

320 North Larchmont Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90004323/466-3445Fax: 323/466-8653www.cerrell.com

Hal Dash, Chairman & CEOLisa Gritzner, PresidentSteve Bullock, CFO

Cerrell is California’s seniorpublic relations and publicaffairs firm. With an extensivedepth and breadth of experiencein Southern California andaround the state, our firm hasconsistently delivered results

for corporate, nonprofit andgovernment clients across awide range of industries andsectors since our founding in1966.

Through nearly five decadesof success, Cerrell has devel-oped an unparalleled body ofknowledge and experience in allfacets of public affairs. Butwhat makes our firm trulyunique among our competitorsis that we don’t simply special-ize in one specific issue area;we have five robust practiceareas and nearly 30 elite anddiverse professionals with adiversity of communicationsexperience under one roof.Cerrell is equipped to engage inthe kind of collaborative, multi-faceted strategic problem-solv-ing that delivers results ourclients need in complex, rapidlychanging environments.

Specifically, our firm pro-vides services in the areas ofmedia relations and crisis com-munication, local governmentadvocacy, campaigns and issuesmanagement, energy and envi-ronment, and land use planning.

Our Media Relations & CrisisCommunication team’s (SeanRossall, VP) expert understand-ing of the messages and eventsthat move the media allowsCerrell to tell our clients’ storiesstrategically. Successfully har-nessing the power of the mediais about more than just manag-ing a story; it’s about makingsure that you are a part of thepublic narrative. Our teamworks at the intersection of tra-ditional and social media tools,securing media coverage fromNew York to Washington, D.C.to Los Angeles.

Cerrell’s Energy &Environment team (MacariaFlores, VP) provides expertstrategic counsel and outreachservices to a wide variety ofcorporate, non-profit and gov-ernment clients. Energy andenvironmental issues are someof the most challenging andcomplex issues facing business-es and government today.National and California-specificregulatory and legislative man-dates for air, water and habitatmake working in the state morechallenging than anywhere elsein the country. Our team under-stands this complex regulatoryframework and the sensitiveenvironmental, political andcommunity impacts that oftenaccompany these issues.

Our Local Government prac-tice (Lisa Gritzner, President)employs a team-orientedapproach that helps our clientssuccessfully navigate local andstate government, engage deci-sion-makers and, ultimately,achieve their desired results —securing a government contract,passing an ordinance or stop-ping an unfavorable action. Ourlocal government team is com-posed of seasoned professionalswho are former city, state andfederal government staff mem-bers.

Cerrell’s skilled Campaigns& Issues Management team(Brandon Stephenson, VP)manages every aspect of a polit-ical or issue-based campaign ina strategic manner to achieveour clients’ goals — whetherit’s achieving success onElection Day or winning a votebefore a governing body.

Cerrell’s Land Use team(Alisa Karlan, VP) employs ateam-oriented approach ondevelopment projects that helpour clients successfully navi-gate the complex, and oftenpolitical, entitlement process.We thoughtfully engage com-munities and opinion leaders tobuild consensus to provide deci-sion-makers the support theyneed to approve our clients’projects.

Cerrell is a partner of TheWorldcom Public RelationsGroup.

COONEY/WATERSGROUP

111 Fifth Ave.New York, NY 10003212/886-2200www.cooneywatersgroup.comwww.cooneywaters.comwww.thecorkerygroup.comwww.alembichealth.com

Timothy Bird, President/COOAnita Bose, Chief StrategistKaren O’Malley, President, TheCorkery GroupSherri Michelstein, President,Alembic Health

Cooney/Waters Group(CWG), ranked among the tophealthcare agencies in the U.S.,is a family of strategic commu-nications companies focusedexclusively on healthcare. Weare experts at translating com-plex science into bold, com-pelling campaigns. We offer anunparalleled scope of strategicmarketing and communications

solutions, advocacy relationsand issue-oriented communica-tions to healthcare clients innon-profit, government andindustrial sectors throughoutthe world. The Group includesCooney/Waters, a mid-sizedfirm that provides the full rangeof innovative marketing com-munications approaches acrosstherapeutic areas and healthsectors; Alembic HealthCommunications, focused onsetting the standard for publicand private advocacy in thehealth and wellness arena; andThe Corkery Group, interna-tionally recognized for itsexpertise in issue-orientedhealth and medical communica-tions.

COOPERKATZ &COMPANY, INC.

205 Lexington Avenue, 5th FloorNew York, NY 10016917/595-3030Fax:917/326-8997www.cooperkatz.com

New York-based and independ-ent since our founding in 1996,we offer full-service public rela-tions, digital, creative servicesand event production capabilitiesto a national client base acrossmany industry sectors. Our serv-ices include brand positioning,communications training, mediarelations, digital / social mediastrategy and execution, productintroductions, video production,meeting / event production, col-lateral materials and more.

The CooperKatz team com-bines the professionalism andstrategic thinking of a largeagency with the nimbleness andclient focus of a small firm. Wehave won numerous awardsincluding “Best Agency of theYear” in our size category and“Best Agencies to Work For”by The Holmes Report.

CooperKatz is a member of theCouncil of Public Relations Firmsand the Public Relations GlobalNetwork, a consortium of inde-pendent agencies representingover 80 markets around the world.

The June issue of O’Dwyer’s will profileInternational PR firms, as well as PRfirms with a multicultural practice. If youwould like your firm to be listed, contactEditor Jon Gingerich at 646/843-2080or [email protected]




COYNE PUBLICRELATIONS

5 Wood Hollow RoadParsippany, NJ 07054973/588-2000www.coynepr.com

1065 Ave. of the Americas, 28th Flr.New York, NY 10018212/938-0166

604 Arizona Ave., Suite 10Santa Monica, CA 90401310/395-6110

Thomas F. Coyne, CEORich Lukis, PresidentBrad Buyce, John Gogarty, EVPsTim Schramm, Kelly Dencker,David Carter, Jennifer Kamienski,Kevin Lamb, Heather Krug, SVPsStacy Bataille, Linda BernsteinJasper, Silvio Bonvini, Dr. NormanBooth, D.Litt, Chris Brienza,Jennifer DeNick, Marie Baker, JoeGargiulo, Kevin Lamb, BrianMurphy, Sue Murphy, GeoffreyPhelps, Mike Salzillo, JanetSchiller, Rob Schnapp, DeborahSierchio, Lisa Wolleon, LaurenMackiel Gory, VPs

Coyne PR is one of thenation’s leading independentpublic relations agencies. Theagency represents some of theworld’s most well-known brandsin a range of categories:Automotive, Beauty & Fashion,Entertainment, Food &Nutrition, Health, Media &Publishing, Pet & Animal,Retail, Sports, Technology,Travel & Hospitality and Toy &Juvenile Products. We combinestrategy and creativity to gener-ate the best possible results forour clients taking each andevery client — exactly wherethey want to be, and beyond.

The agency has been named

Midsize Agency of the Yearfrom PRWeek and PR News,Best Agency to Work For inAmerica and Consumer Agencyof the Year from The HolmesReport. These awards are a tes-tament to the breadth and depthof our category experience, aswell as a reinforcement of ouragency philosophy, which is toprovide best of class creativity,client service and results in anoffice environment that is con-sistently ranked among the bestemployers in the industry.Coyne PR specializes in mediarelations, brand building, prod-uct launches, events & promo-tions, CSR, social media, corpo-rate communications, digitalcreative and crisis management.The agency also boasts a fullservice, internal design and dig-ital department specializing indigital strategy, social media,design, video production,mobile apps and more.

CROSBY MARKETING

705 Melvin AvenueAnnapolis, MD 21401410/626-0805www.crosbymarketing.com

Raymond Crosby, PresidentTammy Ebaugh, Chief StrategyOfficerJoel Machak, Exec. Creative Dir.

The Crosby team is passionateabout creating communicationsprograms focused on InspiringActions That Matter™. Theseactions help clients positivelyimpact people’s lives, while alsocontributing to the greater good.

Crosby helps clients make pow-erful connections with their cus-tomers, constituents and communi-

ties by tapping the motivations thatshape attitudes and inspire behaviorchange. The firm’s award-winningcampaigns, which integrate paid,earned and social media, havetouched the lives of virtually everyAmerican.

Crosby has specialized practicesin Healthcare, Government andAdvocacy & Social Marketing, andranks among the top agencies in theMid-Atlantic region. It has head-quarters in Maryland’s State capitalof Annapolis and offices inWashington, D.C.

Clients: ACTS Retirement-LifeCommunities, AHRQ,CapitalSource Bank, CatholicRelief Services, Disabled AmericanVeterans (DAV), DuPont, EPAENERGY STAR program, KaiserPermanente, National Assoc. ofSocial Workers, PennroseProperties, Saint Agnes Hospital,Social Security Administration,U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S.Dept. of Health & Human Services,Veterans Health Administration,and Wallace Foundation.

DAVIES808 State StreetSanta Barbara, CA 93101 805/963-5929 [email protected] www.DaviesPublicAffairs.com

Los Angeles: 310/395-9510 Washington, D.C.: 202/580-8930

John Davies, CEORobb Rice, EVPTaylor Canfield, EVPLisa Palmer, SVPJoshua Boisvert, VPSasha Boghosian, VP

Our nearly flawless record forproject approvals over 30 yearsspeaks for itself — if you want towin, hire Davies. We are the awardwinning national public affairs firmof choice for clients faced with highstakes, defining issues that theycan’t afford to lose. Davies has

turned public affairs into an art. Weprovide thoughtful strategies, com-pelling messages and precise tacti-cal execution to overcome contro-versy and crisis. We have workedin countless contentious arenasover the last 30 years, but we havechosen four specific areas on whichto focus our depth of expertise:Real Estate, Energy &Environment, Mining and Crisis.

DEVELOPMENTCOUNSELLORS

INTERNATIONAL

215 Park Ave. South, 10th FloorNew York, NY 10003212/444-7123 www.aboutdci.com

Headquartered in New YorkCity with offices in Denver,Toronto and Los Angeles, DCIspecializes in economic develop-ment and tourism marketing andpublic relations. Known as “TheLeader in Marketing Places,” DCIhas worked with more than 400countries, regions, states and citiesto create “place marketing” cam-paigns that drive investment andtourism since 1960.

Our place marketing consultantsdesign and implement headline-generating media relations cam-paigns; social and digital market-ing programs; special events forconsumers, investors, media andtravel industry representatives; siteselection consultant programs;marketing and sales campaignsdesigned to influence investors,visitors and meetings/conventions;and conduct spokesperson/mediatraining.

Each one of our 50 staff has a“passion for places” which createsa culture of collaboration, ideasharing and a deep desire toachieve the investment and visitorattraction objectives of our clientcommunities.

The Crosby team celebrates after its annual Day of Service to localnonprofits.Meet Coyne PR! Our staff is what makes our agency great and

enables us to work with clients that we have a great passion for, andwho let us run with our creativity. The agency has been recognizedwith more than 250 industry honors in the last two years.




DKC261 Fifth Avenue, 2nd FloorNew York, NY 10016212/[email protected]

Sean Cassidy, President

Based in New York City withoffices in Los Angeles, Chicago,Washington DC and Albany,DKC is a full service public rela-tions, marketing and governmentaffairs firm, providing all com-munications needs includingstrategic counsel and planning,media relations, digital and socialmedia, integrated marketing,event production and marketing,executive positioning, crisismanagement and public affairs.

DKC has a national reputationfor strategic thinking, creativityand media relations, along withan innovative approach to publicrelations and integrated market-ing. Our client list is as diverse asthe backgrounds of our staff, andincludes some of the most presti-gious global brands. From cor-porate to consumer, technologyto travel, health care to hospitali-ty, media properties to musiclabels, sports to public policy,DKC brings this diversity ofindustry knowledge and relation-ships with key media and influ-encers to bear for our clients.We’ve broken the mold of a tra-ditional PR agency to create abold new hybrid that combinesthe creativity, expertise and sen-ior level engagement characteris-tic of a boutique agency, with thestrategic abilities, intellectualcapital and bandwidth of a largecorporation.

Clients: AARP, Airbnb, BadBoy Entertainment/Sean “Diddy”Combs, Bank of Montreal, BarNana Bar & Lounge, BeckerEntertainment, C.F. Martin &Company, Children’s Health Fund,CitiBank/CITI Field, Delta AirLines/Corporate Relations, DisneyInteractive Studios/Babble.com,Esquire, Feld Entertainment,Jaguar, Ken Burns, Land Rover,LinkedIn, Marvel Enterprises,Match.com, McAfee, NewBalance, New Era Cap, PBS,Rockwell Architecture, SesameWorkshop, Smith Brothers CoughDrops, Topps Company, The PlazaHotel, Tumblr, Inc., UltaConsumer Relations, USTA, andYahoo! Media Network /USH/Global Policy.

DODGE COMMUNICATIONS

11675 Rainwater Dr., #300Alpharetta, GA 30009770/998-0500Fax: 770/998-0208www.dodgecommunications.comdodgecommunications.com/blogTwitter: @DodgeComm

Brad Dodge, CEOBrian Parrish, Exec. VP & PrincipalChowning Johnson, VPElisabeth Deckon, VP

Dodge Communications, a fast-growing, award-winning agencyserving emerging and establishedhealthcare brands, helps companiesbuild awareness, demonstratethought leadership and generatedemand. By enabling the conver-gence of public relations, marketingand digital media disciplines,Dodge’s integrated communica-tions approach allows clients tonavigate an increasingly complexhealthcare landscape for sustain-able, measurable results. Theknowledge, contacts and talentDodge offers artfully combineseffective and powerful positioningwith precise message definition,skillful execution and dependablereach to positively influence keydecision makers and stakeholders.With a passion for providing excel-lence in client service, Dodge hasan impressive track record for clientgrowth and retention and consis-tently delivers strategies that engageprospects, optimize interactions andpromote business.

EDELMAN

250 Hudson StreetNew York, NY 10013212/768-0550www.edelman.comfacebook.com/edelmanTwitter: @edelmanprRichard Edelman, Pres.& CEOMatthew Harrington, GlobalChief Operating OfficerGlenn Engler, Global Director ofCorporate StrategyAlan VanderMolen, ViceChairman, DJE HoldingsMark Hass, President and CEO,Edelman U.S.

Edelman is the world’slargest public relations firm,with 67 offices and more than4,800 employees worldwide, aswell as affiliates in more than30 cities. Daniel J. Edelmanfounded the agency on October1, 1952, in Chicago. His values

and vision have led the firm,which remains independent andfamily-owned, through its 60-plus years of operation. His sonRichard Edelman is nowPresident and CEO.

Edelman is comprised ofeight global practices whichmake up its core competencies:Consumer Marketing,Corporate, Digital, Health,Public Affairs, TechnologyCrisis and Risk and Business +Social Purpose each with relat-ed specialty areas of expertise.Edelman owns specialty firmsEdelman Berland (research),Blue (advertising), BioScienceCommunications (medical com-munications), and agenciesEdelman Significa (Brazil), andPegasus (China). Edelman’sintellectual property such as theEdelman Trust Barometer andbrandshare study continue tosolidify the agency’s position asthe thought leader for the indus-try.

FAHLGREN MORTINE

4030 Easton Station, Suite 300Columbus, OH 43219614/383-1500Fax: 614/[email protected]

Neil Mortine, President & CEO

Fahlgren Mortine offers a fullrange of marketing and communi-cations services, from media rela-tions to brand strategy to the cre-ative and practical application ofconverged media. With 80 publicrelations professionals and clientsbased all over the world, FahlgrenMortine is headquartered inColumbus, Ohio, with 15 locationsin eight states. In addition to ourregional offices, we have the abili-ty to reach audiences globallythrough our involvement with theCouncil of Public Relations Firmsand membership in IPREX. InJanuary 2014, Fahlgren Mortineannounced the acquisition of itsfirst wholly owned subsidiary,Turner PR, a travel, tourism andactive lifestyle public relationsfirm. Other specializations atFahlgren Mortine includeB2B/tech, higher education, health-care and consumer.

What matters most to our clientsis our way of doing business. We’reaccountable, approachable andcommitted to helping our clientssucceed. It’s enabled us to achieve

a Net Promoter Score (NPS) thatplaces us in what the creator of theNPS deems the “world-class”range, and it means our clientsenthusiastically recommend us totheir peers. It also helps us attractthe best talent from the corporateand agency worlds who are lookingfor the best place to practice theirprofession and make a real differ-ence with clients.

FEINTUCH COMMUNICATIONS

245 Park Ave., 39th flr.New York, NY 10167212/808-4900; fax: 212/808-4915info@feintuchpr.comwww.feintuchcommunications.comwww.PRWorldAlliance.com

Henry Feintuch, President

Feintuch Communications is aboutique strategic relations firmoffering senior counseling, experi-ence and hands-on support to abroad range of organizations —from the Fortune 500 to emergingcompanies, non-profits and associ-ations. We’ve aligned our in-housetalent and external resourcesaround the critical business andmarketing challenges faced bybusinesses today — includingstrategic public relations, businessdevelopment, investor relations,capital sourcing, partnership devel-opment, advertising and marketing.We serve on the board and are apartner in PR World Alliance

Fahlgren Mortine President andCEO Neil Mortine





(PRWorldAlliance.com), a globalpartnership of premier independentcommunications consultancies.

In our delivery of sophisticatedpublic relations services, we focuson specific needs — such as mediarelations, new product launches,corporate identity and branding —as well as broader-based initiativesincluding industry analyst cam-paigns, trade and consumer out-reach, awards and honors pro-grams, speaking platforms andassociation marketing. Key PRpractices are technology, advertis-ing & media, financial services andclean tech/energy.

For companies looking toexpand into new global markets,our JumpStart Global Advisors(www.jumpstartglobal.com) sub-sidiary offers a bundle of integratedservices that allow them to enterthose markets quickly and efficient-ly — everything from legal,accounting, administrative, HR andrecruitment to business develop-ment and distribution services —coupled with the appropriatelyscaled PR and marketing initiativesto generate inquiries.

Our goal is to provide the expertservice, experienced counsel andhands-on support that our clientsneed to meet their business objec-tives. Our commitment is to be asuperior business partner and anoutstanding strategic relations firmin each and every client engage-ment.

Clients: Accura Media Group,CityShares, Convene, GSI,Imperial Holdings, Listener DrivenRadio, Optimal Payments, PLDevelopments, Secure-24, Soliddd,and Worthy.com.

FINN PARTNERS

301 East 57th StreetNew York, NY 10022212/[email protected]

Peter Finn, Founding Partner

Finn Partners is a dynamic, rap-idly growing young public rela-tions agency with deep digitalcapabilities that infuse our work inmany specialty areas. We havestrong teams focused on servingclients in technology, consumertech, consumer, education, tourismand economic development, public

affairs, global issues and the envi-ronment, and the arts.

Today the firm has a staff of 300,with offices in NY, WashingtonD.C., Chicago, San Francisco, LosAngeles, Fort Lauderdale, Londonand Jerusalem. The firm experi-enced strong growth in 2013,which was the result of growingexisting client relationships, win-ning new accounts and makingacquisitions. Our offices inLondon, Chicago and FortLauderdale all expanded into largerspace in 2013. WidmeyerCommunications, the leader ineducation related PR and publicaffairs, which is headquartered inWashington D.C., was acquired byFinn Partners in 2013.

At the core of the Finn Partnersphilosophy is a commitment to col-laboration and partnership, bothinternally among our colleaguesand with our clients. We are alsovery focused on creating a “bestplace to work” environment, andwere very pleased that in 2013 FinnPartners was named Best Agencyto Work for in North America,based on an industry-wide surveyof 5,000 employees who work atapproximately 60 US PR agencies.We believe strongly that by creat-ing a “best place to work” culture,we will keep and attract the besttalent in the industry and that thiswill enable us to do the very bestwork possible for our clients.

We are excited by the changestaking place in our industry, partic-ularly in the digital world, and feelthat the future holds enormousopportunities for companies inte-grating digital strategies into theircommunications mix. We workevery day to meet and exceed ourclients’ expectations, and we thankeach and every one of them forplacing their trust in Finn Partners.

FRENCH/WEST/VAUGHAN

112 East Hargett St. Raleigh, NC 27601 919/832-6300 www.fwv-us.com

Rick French, Chairman & CEO David Gwyn, President & PrincipalNatalie Best, Executive VP, Dir.of Client Services, Principal

French/West/Vaughan (FWV) isthe Southeast’s leading public rela-tions, public affairs and brand com-munications agency, independentor otherwise. Founded in April1997 by Agency Chairman & CEORick French, FWV now employs

89 research, public relations, publicaffairs, advertising and digital mar-keting experts among its Raleigh,N.C. headquarters and New YorkCity, Dallas, Los Angeles andTampa offices.

FWV is ranked as the 19thlargest independent PR firm in theU.S. and has been named the #1 PRfirm in the Southeast by O’Dwyer’sfor the 10th consecutive year. FWValso places second in sports PR,fourth in beauty and fashion PRand 11th in travel PR nationally.The first and only N.C.-based firmto capture not one, but two coveted“Consumer Agency of the Year”awards (The Holmes Report andBulldog Reporter), as well as thefirst N.C.-based company to top thelist of the world’s fastest-growingagencies as measured by year-over-year percentage growth (PR Week),FWV’s national and internationalclients include Wrangler, JustinBoot Company, the InternationalGemological Institute (IGI), ABB,Saft and Moe’s Southwest Grillrestaurants.

In addition to its core publicrelations business, FWV is home toone of the nation’s strongest andmost innovative digital servicespractices. A leader in launchingaward-winning, results-drivenmarketing campaigns, FWV exe-cutes multifaceted digital andsocial media initiatives to drivevaluable, relevant fan growth, aswell as stimulate product trials,influencer and targeted audienceawareness and conversions onbehalf of some of the world’s fore-most brands, including: FretlightGuitars, Elevation Burger, GemesisDiamond Company, CalligarisHome Furnishing, Riders by Lee,NC State University, MelittaCoffee and Hood River Distillers(Pendleton Whisky, Pendleton1910, Yazi Ginger Vodka, Broker’sGin and SinFire CinnamonWhisky).

GIBBS & SOELL,INC.

60 East 42nd Street, 44th FloorNew York, NY 10165212/697-2600 Fax: 212/697-2646www.gibbs-soell.com

Chicago: 312/648-6700;Raleigh: 919/870-5718Basel: + 41 61 264-8410

Luke Lambert, President and CEOJeff Altheide, Executive VPSeth Niessen, Controller

Gibbs & Soell is an independent

business communications firm withheadquarters in New York andoffices in Chicago, Raleigh, N.C.,and Basel, Switzerland. The firm’sglobal network extends across 50countries through its PROIWorldwide partnership. G&S inte-grates business and communica-tions strategies, using a full range ofcommunications services, to buildsustainable relationships for clientsalong the entire value chain. Weinspire action that drives results.

G&S focuses on key markets –Advanced Manufacturing,Agribusiness and Food, Consumer,Financial Services, and Home andBuilding — where the agency hasdeep experience and offers valuableinsight. We employ a comprehen-sive suite of communications andmarketing services — Content,Creative, Digital, Events, Media,and Social — delivered by accountteams who are intimately involvedin a client’s business and becometrusted advisers.

Our practice groups – BusinessConsulting, EmployeeEngagement and SustainabilityConsulting — bring dedicatedresources, best practices and toolsto leverage business communica-tions strategies for maximumimpact.

Partial client roster:ACC/Cybersecurity, ADP, AlgenolBiofuels, Arabian AmericanDevelopment Co., Borro, Inc.,Catholic Cemeteries, CEMEX,Commonfund Group, DECA-GolfBuddy, Firestone BuildingProducts, Florida East CoastRailway, Firestone BuildingProducts, Gevo, Häfele America,Hardwood ManufacturersAssociation, Harris Interactive(now Nielsen), Head USA, Inc.,HomeServe USA, Honeywell,Intertek, Jeld-Wen, LORDCorporation, ME Global, MedicalMutual, Million Dollar RoundTable, Mitsubishi ElectricAutomation, National ElevatorIndustry, Inc., Panasonic Home &Environment Company, PanasonicHVAC, Panasonic Tools, Ply Gem,Inc., Rayovac/Spectrum Brands,Schindler Elevator, SchumacherHomes, Southern StatesCooperative, Syngenta, TradeCommission of Spain, TrudeauCorp., U.S. Grains Council,Victorinox, and Xuber Insurance.

FEINTUCH COMMS.0Continued from page 62

View and download profiles of hundredsof PR firms in more than a dozen industryspecialties at:

wwww.odwyerpr.com




GREGORY FCA

27 W. Athens AvenueArdmore, PA 19003610/642-8253www.gregoryfca.comblog.gregoryfca.comwww.facebook.com/gregoryfcawww.twitter.com/gregoryfcawww.linkedin.com/gregoryfca

Gregory FCA is a full-serv-ice, strategically integrated pub-lic relations firm with over 24years of experience in nationalmedia relations, investor rela-tions, financial communica-tions, and content marketing.The 44th largest firm inAmerica, Gregory FCA wasamong the first PR firms inAmerica to incorporate socialmedia into integrated communi-cations campaigns.

Our clients are fast-growingprivate and publicly tradedcompanies who depend on us tohelp them build their businessesthrough high-profile exposurein traditional and digital media,and the capital markets.

Our staff includes top mindsin writing, public relations, andfinance — MBAs, former jour-nalists, and bloggers — with theknowledge, creativity, andexperience to execute sophisti-cated corporate communica-tions, media relations, socialmedia, and investor relationsprograms.

We are experts at telling ourclients’ stories and driving thosemessages out to a proprietarynetwork of media contacts,bloggers, consumers, investors,institutions, and other interestgroups that can help our clientsgrow.

If your business could benefitfrom high-profile media expo-sure, social media buzz, digitaland traditional communicationservices, or integrated investorrelations capabilities, join thecompanies who call GregoryFCA their agency of record.

GROUNDFLOORMEDIA, INC.

1923 Market StreetDenver, CO 80202303/[email protected]

Laura Love, FounderRamonna Robinson, President

Staffed entirely by seasonedindustry pros, GroundFloor Mediais an award-winning, integratedagency focusing on strategic com-munications, digital & social mediastrategy, and crisis communication& reputation management.Headquartered in Denver, GFM hasmore than 35 team members acrossthe country. Additionally, theagency has global reach across sixcontinents through its membershipin the Public Relations GlobalNetwork (PRGN). Ambitiousbrands like Oskar Blues Brewery,Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt,Children’s Hospital Colorado,BNSF Railway, Door to DoorOrganics, LiveWell Colorado,Bellco, 34 Degrees and USASwimming have collaborated withGFM to deliver results-driven cam-paigns. In 2013, GFM was namedOutside Magazine’s #1 Best Placeto Work. For more informationabout the agency and its award-win-ning work, visit groundfloorme-dia.com or get to know the agencyon Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

GYMR, LLC (GETTING YOUR

MESSAGE RIGHT)

1825 Connecticut Ave., N.W.Suite 300Washington, DC 20009-5708202/745-5100Fax: 202/234-6159www.gymr.com

Patrick J. McCabe, PartnerSharon M. Reis, PartnerBecky Watt Knight, SVPVirginia Bader, SVPMichael Warner, VP

GYMR is a Washington, D.C.based public relations agencythat provides health/healthcareclients with strategic communi-cations that capitalize on thedynamics unique to Washington.GYMR’s unique strength is thebackground of its team — gov-ernment, advocacy, associations,foundations, corporations andnonprofit organizations — whoexecute strategies that includeimage and alliance building, pub-lic education campaigns or mediarelations to harness the formida-ble forces of Washington andproduce successful results forclients. The agency has coun-seled a wide range of clients,including trade associations,health voluntary organizations,coalitions, foundations, corpora-tions, federal and state agenciesand nonprofit groups.

Partial Client List: AdvaMed,American Academy of FamilyPhysicians, American Board ofInternal Medicine, AmericanPsychiatric Association, AvalereHealth, Banner Alzheimer’sInstitute, BravewellCollaborative, Campaign ForTobacco-Free Kids, DigestiveDisease Week, Duke University,Health Affairs, Institute of

Medicine, National Institutes ofHealth, Peter G. PetersonFoundation, Robert WoodJohnson Foundation, Society forHealthcare Epidemiology ofAmerica, The NemoursFoundation, The Vision Council.

HUNTER PUBLICRELATIONS

41 Madison Avenue, 5th Fl.New York, NY 10010212/679-6600 [email protected]

Grace Leong, Managing PartnerJonathan Lyon, JasonWinocour, Mark Newman,Donetta Allen, Gigi Russo, andErin Hanson, Partners

Combine limitless creativity andenthusiasm with research-basedstrategic counsel, outstanding tradi-tional media relations and socialmedia savvy and you have HunterPublic Relations, one of the mostrecognized mid-sized firms in mar-keting communications.

Celebrating our 25th anniversaryin 2014, practice areas in consumerproducts and services include foodand beverage, wine and spirits,home and lifestyle, health andbeauty, technology and pet care.

Hunter PR’s long-term clientsinclude some of the most respectedand beloved consumer packagedgoods companies in Americaincluding Tabasco (our first client25 years ago, and still a clienttoday), Kraft Foods (23 years), and3M (17 years). Revitalizingmature brands, creating buzzaround new products and buildingawareness among key influencergroups are among the firm’s specif-ic areas of expertise. Specializedresearch, social media, Hispanic,

GYMR Partners Patrick McCabe and Sharon Reis.


The GroundFloor Media team at its annual friends and family sum-mer event.




entertainment, cause marketing,digital and graphic design servicesround out the agency’s insightbased, 360-degree approach.

Named as both a “Best DigitalPR Firm” and a “Best Place toWork,” Hunter Public Relations isproud to be a communications firmwhere the best brand teams andcompanies keep their business andthe best talent in the business wantsto work.

Partial Client List: 3M, CanManufacturers Institute, Church &Dwight, Diageo North America,Domino Sugar, E&J Gallo Winery,Gojo (Purell), Hasbro, Johnson &Johnson, Kraft Foods, McIlhennyCompany (Tabasco), Mondelez,McNeil CHC, OutbackSteakhouse, PetArmor, Pompeian,Post Foods, Smithfield PackingCompany, and Sylvan Learning.

ICR

685 Third Avenue, 2nd FloorNew York, NY 10017646/277-1200Fax: 646/277-1201www.icrinc.com

Thomas M. Ryan, CEO, Co-FounderDon Duffy, President

Established in 1998 and private-ly-held, ICR partners with compa-nies to develop strategic communi-

cations programs that achieve busi-ness goals, manage risk, andenhance the value of the enterprise.The firm’s pairing of capital mar-kets veterans and senior communi-cations professionals provides ahighly-differentiated offering, onethat continues to serve as the foun-dation for significant growth.

Today, ICR has approximately400 clients across 20 industries andis one of the largest independentagencies in North America. Thefirm maintains offices in Boston,Connecticut, Los Angeles, NewYork, San Francisco and Beijing.

In 2013, ICR once again sawdouble digit revenue growth drivenby new client wins includingNoodles & Company, AdventSoftware, Diamond Foods,Container Store, Inc. and AMCEntertainment Holdings. In Januaryof 2014, ICR hosted the 16thAnnual ICR XChange, the firm’sannual investor conference. Theevent saw more than 150 privateand public company managementteams and 2,300 attendees.

INKHOUSE

260 Charles StreetWaltham, MA 02453781/966-4100www.inkhouse.com

Beth Monaghan and MegO’Leary, Principals & Co-Founders

Founded in 2007, InkHouse isan award-winning public rela-tions and content marketing

agency for the digital age. Withoffices in Waltham, MA and SanFrancisco, CA, InkHouse booststhe brands of and incites interestfor early-stage startups, Fortune100 enterprises, and lots ofcompanies in between. In addi-tion to media and analyst rela-tions, InkHouse helps theirclients gain market attentionthrough a unique content mar-keting practice, which includesa news bureau (consisting offormer journalists from the AP,New York Times, Boston Globe,etc. who serve as writers andbrand journalists for clients)and a visual communicationsteam (consisting of designersspecializing in filmmaking,infographics, motion graphics,electronic slideshows).

INTERMARKET COMMUNICATIONS

425 Madison Ave., Suite 600New York, NY 10017212/[email protected]

Martin Mosbacher, ManagingPartner and CEOMatt Zachowski, ManagingPartner and Chairman

Intermarket Communicationsis a leading independentprovider of public relations andmarketing services to globalfinancial services industry aswell as selected corporateclients. We offer clients a com-bination of strategic expertiseand informed executiondesigned to generate the mediacoverage and social mediaamplification that builds andmaintains reputation, and

achieves sustained results.Founded in 1986, Intermarket

Communications works withclients throughout the globalbusiness community, includinginvestment marketplaces andexchanges, leading buy-sideand sell-side institutions, banks,alternative investmentproviders, technology and serv-ice providers, as well as govern-ment and industry organiza-tions.

Service is the key factor thatsets Intermarket apart. AtIntermarket, all clients workdirectly with a team of experi-enced financial communicationsprofessionals who understandyour business, help shape yourstory, and know how to makethat story resonate with theaudiences you need to reach.

JACKSON SPALDING

1100 Peachtree St. NE, #900Atlanta, GA 30309404/724-2500Fax: 404/[email protected]

125 Washington St., Suite 775Athens, GA 30601706/354-0470

750 N. Saint Paul St., Ste. 1700Dallas, TX 75201214/269-4400

Bo Spalding, Glen Jackson,Brian Brodrick, Randall Kirsch,Eric O’Brien and Trudy Kremer,Co-Owners and PrincipalsColin Owens, Marketing DirectorBrett Player, Creative Director


HUNTER PR0Continued from page 65

From left to right: Beth Monaghan and Meg O’Leary, Principals andCo-founders of InkHouse.

To commemorate 25 years in business, Hunter Public Relations wel-comed 140 current and past employees to share memories and cele-brate the firms history. Pictured here are the agencies current part-ners with Founder Barbara Hunter (center).




Jackson Spalding was founded in1995 with a team of eight peoplewho felt there was a better way tostructure a communications firm,advance clients and serve the com-munity. Our vision is to be the mosttrusted and respected integratedmarketing communications firm.That’s it. We don’t aim to be thebiggest or flashiest. We are inde-pendent and are beholden only toour clients, ourselves and the com-munity organizations in which weinvest our time. As we have listenedto our clients and anticipated theirchallenges, we have added servicesand expertise to further their rela-tionships with target audiences tobecome a full-service integratedmarketing communications firm.We help our clients to tell their sto-ries and connect with audiences incompelling ways through:

Discovery: helping organizationsunderstand why they (or their prod-ucts or services) matter and whatmakes them meaningfully different.Development: embracing meaning-ful differences so that we mayuncover essential stories and devel-op messages that resonate and‘stick.’ Delivery: balancing themessage, messenger, place, tone,timing and tools to effectively con-nect with target audiences andevoke expressions

Some of the JS client familymembers include Orkin, Delta AirLines, Toyota, the College FootballHall of Fame, Chick-fil-A,Primrose Schools, Mattress Firm,the University System of Georgia,the Atlanta Braves and Children’sHealthcare of Atlanta. We workacross all types of industries andcommit to understanding ourclients’ business as if it were ourown. Our commitment to learning,along with the integrity, experienceand intelligence of our people, isreflected in the 40+ awards we havegarnered over the past five years,including placing 4th in the 2014Atlanta Journal-Constitution “TopWorkplaces” study.

JARRARD PHILLIPSCATE & HANCOCK,

INC.

The Horse Barn at Maryland Farms219 Ward CircleBrentwood, TN 37027615/254-0575Fax: 615/843-8431

[email protected]

161 N. Clark, Ste. 4700Chicago, IL 60601312/419-0575

David Jarrard, Kevin Phillips,Molly Cate, Anne HancockToomey, PartnersVince Galloro, Senior Advisor

Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancockis the premier strategic communica-tions team for any hospital orhealthcare organization in thenation experiencing a time of signif-icant change, crisis or opportunity.

Based in Nashville, with anoffice in Chicago, our team of polit-ical operatives, journalists andhealthcare and hospital marketersdevelops and manages successfulcampaigns throughout the UnitedStates — from clearing the way formergers and acquisitions, to build-ing, protecting and using an organi-zation’s reputation, to navigatingissues and change, to launching (orrepositioning) a service or business,to retooling communicationsdepartments to be savvy and suc-cessful in this new era of healthcare.

We understand healthcare andthe complex pressures that drive theindustry, and we bring intensity,intelligence and discipline — thecornerstones of every good politicalcampaign — to the healthcarearena.

J PUBLIC RELATIONS

530 7th Avenue, Suite 1108New York, NY [email protected]

Sarah Evans, Partner

Founded in 2005, J PublicRelations (JPR), has become one ofthe most admired companies in thecompetitive PR industry. Theagency continues to develop andmanage highly successful mediarelations, social media and digitalcampaigns, and has elevated the artof brand positioning and messagingthrough development of creativeprograms and packages for luxuryclients and global brands. JPR isone of the top award-winning hos-pitality, luxury lifestyle and socialmedia firms in the country, with aclient roster that includes many ofthe world’s most highly esteemedhotels, restaurants, spas andlifestyle brands. A bi-coastal forcewith offices in New York andCalifornia, and presence in OrangeCounty, Los Angeles and Arizona,

JPR offers an integrated approach tocultivating fresh, creative andthoughtful media campaigns. Theagency has grown more than 250percent in the past two years, rank-ing among O’Dwyer’s top 100fastest growing agencies in the U.S.JPR has also earned a spot on theInc. 5000 list of fastest growing pri-vate companies, placing 12th in thenation for fastest growing privatecompanies in travel.

JPR strives to achieve resultsdesigned to enhance each client’sbrand and directly impact the bot-tom line. The agency’s areas ofexpertise include media relations,social media strategy and manage-ment, media events and tours, brandlaunches, property openings andrepositioning campaigns. JPR con-sistently delivers innovative, value-driven campaigns that ensure ourclients are getting the most for theirinvestment. True to the companymotto “don’t let the pink fool you,”JPR is a powerhouse of savvy spe-cialists, experienced at launchingbrands and keeping them relevantthrough consistent innovation, cre-ativity and enthusiasm.

KAPLOW

19 West 44th St., 6th FloorNew York, NY 10036 212/221-1713 [email protected] www.kaplowpr.com

Liz Kaplow, Founder and CEO

For more than two decades,KAPLOW has been changing con-versations through innovative story-telling that helps consumers fall inlove with clients’ brands.

Driven by three pillars —Storytelling, Relationship PR,Innovation & Creativity — wedevelop integrated programs toreach consumers at every touchpoint. Although rooted in earnedmedia, we have been pushing theboundaries of social media, brandedcontent and visual storytelling tohelp clients build an emotionalbond with consumers.

In 2013, our work with Skypewon the first Global Sabre Awardfor Branded Content. Our launch ofConair’s Curl Pro drove so muchbuzz, the product sold out withoutadvertising. And we continued toput the “tar-jay” in Target with alife-size dollhouse in Grand CentralTerminal.

Our size and independence makeus nimble and flexible as werespond to the fast-changing medialandscape.

Clients include: Avon

Foundation, CEW, CVS/Pharmacy,Gurwitch (Laura Mercier /Revive/Nyakio), Kayser Roth (NoNonsense), PVH (Olga/Warner’s),Skype, Shiseido, Timex, Target andSt. Ives.

KELLEN COMMUNICATIONS

355 Lexington Ave., 15th flr.New York, NY 10017212/297-2100www.kellencommunications.com

1100 Johnson Ferry Rd.Building One, Suite 300Atlanta, GA 30342404/836-5050

750 National Press Building529 14th St., N.W.Washington, DC 20045202/591-2439

1833 Centre Point Circle, Ste 123Naperville, IL 60563630/696-4000

Peter Rush, CEODebra Berliner, Joan Cear, andFrancie Israeli, VPsChris Barry, Director

Kellen Communications devel-ops and executes goal-orientedcommunications programs thatinform audiences, direct percep-tions and deliver success.Combining the latest technologieswith solid messaging and commu-nications strategy, we developmulti-platform integrated programsfor a range of b2b and b2c compa-nies, associations and not-for-profitorganizations. Our staff includesexperts in reputation management,digital marketing, social media mar-keting as well as publicists, journal-ists, scientists, engineers, RDs, pub-lic policy/regulatory experts, graph-ic designers and web developers.(kellencommunications.com)

Clients: American Down &Feather Council, Asphalt RoofersManufacturers Assn., BuildersHardware Manufacturers Assn.,Calorie Control Council, CopperDevelopment Assn., EnvironmentalHealth Research Foundation,Georgia Natural Gas, InternationalCopper Assn., InternationalFormula Council, InternationalInterior Design Assn. — New York,In The Raw Brands, Juice ProductsAssn., National Candle Assn.,National Pasta Assn., NationalWaste and Recycling Assn., ReedConstruction Data, Research ChefsAssn., Sweet’N Low, TarcoRoofing, Toy Industry Association,Valspar, and Window CoveringSafety Council.

JACKSON SPALDING0Continued from page 66




KYNE

21 Penn Plaza360 West 31st Street, Suite 1501New York, NY 10001212/[email protected]

David Kyne, Founder & CEO

Founded in 2009, KYNE is a pri-vately held strategic communica-tions agency with headquarters inNew York City. KYNE’s mission isto address unmet health needs byconnecting public and privateorganizations in strategic partner-ships and related communicationsprograms. From identifying andengaging the right influencers, todeveloping robust multi-stakehold-er campaigns, to providing ongoingmedia relations support, KYNE hasdeep experience in moving healthissues forward and driving towardsmeaningful outcomes.

KYNE leads major health com-munications initiatives both US andglobally and has a robust client ros-ter that includes leaders in the phar-maceutical and biotechnologyindustry, government agencies andnon-profit organizations.

KYNE was recently awardedglobal campaign of the year byPRWeek for its role on the UnitedAgainst Malaria campaign.Connect with KYNE atfacebook.com/KYNENYC andTwitter.com/KYNENYC.

LANE

905 SW 16th AvenuePortland, OR 97205503/[email protected]

500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2720New York, NY 10110212/302-5365

Wendy Lane Stevens, PresidentAmber Roberts, Vice President

LANE combines deep experi-ence, broad connections andunapologetic tenacity to deliverbusiness-building results for clientsin the consumer/lifestyle, technolo-gy and financial services industries.We distinguish and elevate brandsin the crowded retail, food, bever-age, technology, travel and hospi-tality sectors. We establish thoughtleadership and enhance reputationsin the retail banking, commercialbanking, private equity and invest-ments sectors.

Since 1990, LANE has served asa trusted partner to our clients. Weintegrate strategic public relations,digital marketing and investor rela-tions to create multifaceted com-munication campaigns that res-onate with audiences that mattermost. Current clients includeConsumer Cellular, Grand AmericaHotel, The Heathman Hotel, JoséAndrés Foods, MoonstruckChocolate Co., Pendleton WoolenMills, Rejuvenation, TravelOregon, Travel Portland, USTAPacific Northwest, ZAGG, EidPassport, HzO, Key Technology,Davidson Companies, RegionsBank, Swander Pace Capital andThoma Bravo, LLC.

L.C. WILLIAMS &ASSOCIATES

150 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 3800Chicago, IL 60601312/565-3900Fax: 312/[email protected]

Kim Blazek Dahlborn, Pres. & CEOGary Goodfriend, Allison Kurtz,and Shannon Quinn, Exec. VPsGreg Gordon, Senior VPJay Kelly and Tim Young, VicePresidents

L.C. Williams & Associates(LCWA) is a full-service publicrelations and research agency head-quartered in Chicago. Our mid-sized company is made up of expe-rienced, invested and creative indi-viduals whose mission is to provideclients a refreshing agency experi-ence based on trust, flexibility andthe delivery of meaningful resultson time and on budget.

Our independent agencyemploys 30 professionals whosespecialties include marketing com-munications, media relations,social media, corporate relations,employee/labor communications,public affairs, crisis communica-tions, special events, communityrelations, media training and more.The firm offers an in-house, full-service research capability, and anarts and leisure practice.

LCWA serves clients from awide range of industries and is oneof the top agencies specializing inhome products. Our national reachis broadened globally by interna-tional affiliates through our mem-bership in the Public RelationsGlobal Network.

Among current clients: AbbVie,Accreditation Association forAmbulatory Health Care, ADP

Dealer Services, American NursesAssociation, Chicago Children’sTheatre, Columbia College,Contigo, Eaton, ECHO, Electrolux,Eureka, Everest College, FirstAlert, Frigidaire Professional,General Growth Properties,Labelmaster, Land O’ Lakes, LifeFitness, Merit School of Music,Oster Professional, OwensCorning, Paramount Theatre,Physicians Immediate Care,Pyramid Healthcare Solutions,Service Corporation International,Snow Joe, Tiffany & Co., Trex,and UnitedHealthcare.

LEWIS PR

575 Market Street, Suite 1200 San Francisco, CA 94105415/432-2400Fax: 415/[email protected]

Chris Lewis, CEO & Founder James Oehlcke, CFOMorgan McLintic, Executive VP, USAndres Witterman, Executive VP,EMEA & APACLucy Allen, Exec. VP & CSO, USYvonne van Bokhoven, Senior VP,Western EuropeAndy Oliver, Senior VP, APACStephen Corsi, Senior VP, GlobalDigital MarketingSarah Robinson, Global Talent Dir.Sarah Aitchison, Global Oper. Dir.

LEWIS PR is a global PR anddigital communications agency. Inaddition to traditional media andanalyst relations, LEWIS special-izes in social media, digital market-ing and creative services. It workswith companies to implement inte-grated communications programson an international scale. LEWIShas more than 25 wholly-ownedoffices across the US, EMEA andAsia Pacific, with regional head-quarters in London, San Franciscoand Singapore.

LINHART PUBLICRELATIONS

1514 Curtis Street, Suite 200Denver, CO 80202303/620-9044www.linhartpr.com

Sharon Linhart, APR, Founderand Managing PartnerPaul Raab, APR, Senior VP,PartnerCarri Clemens, CFO, PartnerDawn Doty, APR, VP, PartnerKelly Janhunen, Senior AccountDirector, PartnerKelly Womer, APR, ABC, VP,Partner

Linhart Public Relations, anational public relations and cor-porate communications counsel-ing firm based in Colorado, helpsclients build and defend strong,engaging brands and reputations.Our key practice areas includeconsumer marketing, corporatecommunications, digital media,financial services, healthcarecommunications and employeeengagement. We deliver businessresults for about 30 global,national and regional clients.

We’re also recognized as anaward-winning firm for our clientwork, business results and work-place practices. Linhart PR wasnamed PRWeek’s 2012 BoutiqueAgency of the Year and was anational finalist for this award in2013. We also won the national2011 Top Small CompanyWorkplaces award from Inc.magazine and WinningWorkplaces, and we’re regularlyranked on national Best Places ToWork in Public Relations lists.Linhart PR is a member firm inWorldcom Public RelationsGroup, giving us global reach forour clients.

LOU HAMMOND &ASSOCIATES

900 Third AvenueNew York, NY 10022212/308-8880Fax: 212/[email protected]/louhammondprwww.facebook.com/louhammondprwww.pinterest.com/louhammondpr

Lou Hammond, Founder &ChairmanStephen Hammond, PresidentTerence Gallagher, Exec. VP

For nearly 30 years, LouHammond & Associates(LH&A) has provided strategiccounsel and results-driven pub-lic relations programs to clientswho set the standard in the hos-pitality, tourism, home furnish-ings and lifestyle industries.Through integrated, multi-chan-nel communications programsthat can be measured to gaugeeffectiveness, LH&A has earnedthe recognition and respect oftoday’s most influential media,its peers and most importantly,clients who rely upon theagency’s service, integrity andunmatched style.

Founded by industry icon LouHammond, the company takes




pride in its departure from busi-ness-as-usual, remaining fierce-ly independent and providingclients with fees based on anagreed-upon plan, not on timesheets. At LH&A expenses arenever marked up and clientsnever run out of allotted time.

Headquartered in New YorkCity with offices in Charlestonand Miami, the agency boasts anexceptional roster of clients withan unmatched rate of retention.In fact, many clients have beenpartners for more than 15 years.Clients find powerful synergis-tic relationships within theLH&A community, often joiningforces on programs and projectsthat maximize opportunities forall.

Furthering LH&A’s level ofintegration is Hammond Digital+ which is tasked with keeping asteady eye on rapidly changingmarkets and trends — creatingstrategies that engage media andconsumers in key digital chan-nels. The agency’s goal is morethan just likes and fans; it’s cre-ating a strong community ofbrand ambassadors and loyalcustomers.

MAKOVSKY

16 East 34th StreetNew York, NY 10016212/[email protected]

Ken Makovsky, President & CEO

Headquartered in New York,with an owned office inWashington, DC, Makovsky is aleading global integrated commu-nications consultancy, buildingbusinesses and reputations withideas that cross the boundaries oftraditional, digital, social, andexperiential media.

Makovsky has specialties inHealth, Financial and ProfessionalServices, Technology, and Energyand Sustainability. Our servicesinclude public relations, digitalbranding, social media, crisiscommunications, change manage-ment, and investor relations.

In 2013, Makovsky won over28 firm campaign and peopleawards including “MidsizeAgency of the Year” and“Interactive Services Agency ofthe Year.”

Makovsky is also the founder ofIPREX — the second largestworldwide corporation of inde-pendent agencies in more than 30countries and 40 US cities.

MARKETINGMAVEN PUBLIC

RELATIONS

135 W. 29th St., Suite 302New York, NY 10001212/967-5510Fax: 212/[email protected]

2390 C Las Posas Rd., #479Camarillo, CA 93010310/994-7380Fax: 310/868-0222

Headquartered in Los Angeleswith global offices in New YorkCity with international contacts,Marketing Maven PublicRelations ensures clients objec-tives are met through the expertiseof our entire team. Ready to deliv-er your message to the masses, wework collaboratively to effectivelypromote our clients’ products andservices. Our distinguishing inte-gration of PR, SEO and socialmedia marketing mix helps pro-vide a competitive edge to theclient. We also help to implementtracking codes and use analytics tomeasure sales generated fromonline Public Relations andemerging media efforts. A uniquemethodology of taking an activeand helpful role with our clientscreates a personable repertoire thatwe pride ourselves on.

Clients: Addison Field, ArgoMarketing, Baby Trend, BuluBox, Bystrictin, CinG-X, Eat WellCo., eBev, EverDeep, Hot IronHolster, Iron Bridge, Jabu’she,JCORE, Journee, JS Richter, LateNight Health, Listen Up Espanol,LVL Weddings & Events,Maverick Angels, MotilityTraining, Online TradingAcademy, Pamper Me Fabulous,Proper Pillow, Rejuvenator, ShaveIt, Temple Flower, Ubimed, andUrgent Call.

MAXWELL PR +ENGAGEMENT

3934 S.W. Corbett AvenuePortland, OR 97239503/[email protected]/MaxwellPR linkedin.com/company/maxwell-pr

47 Maple St. Burlington, VT 05401802/338-2556

Jennifer Maxwell-Muir, Founder

and PrincipalVicky Hastings, ManagingDirector, Studio WestChrystie Heimert, ManagingDirector, Studio EastErika Simms, Vice President

Maxwell PR + Engagementbuilds national consumer brandsfor purpose-driven companies.Our brand communication pro-grams integrate media relations,consumer engagement, socialmedia and digital marketing todefine positioning; share newsand content of value with thepeople who care the most; sparkemotional connections throughtransparency, creativity andmeaning; and prompt conversa-tion, generate dialogue and buildcommunity.

Founded in 1997 and inde-pendently owned, our work oftenfinds us at the intersection of per-sonal and environmental healthand wellness. Current clientsinclude Argyle Winery, ColumbusFoods, Diamond Foods, Dr.Praeger’s Sensible Foods, KettleBrand®, La Terra Fina,McMenamins, Oregon CherryGrowers, Pacific Foods, Pamela’sProducts, Traditional Medicinals,Travel Astoria-Warrenton, USADry Pea & Lentil Council andZarbee’s Naturals.

MWW

304 Park Avenue South, 8th Flr.New York, NY 10010212/704-9727www.mww.com

Michael W. Kempner, Pres. &CEO

MWW is one of the nation’s topmid-sized public relations firmsand one of the top five largestindependent global agencies. Ourmission is to create relevance forour clients and make them MatterMore™ to their key stakeholders.

We apply our broad range ofexpertise across a variety of disci-plines — including consumerlifestyle marketing, digital mar-keting and social media, LGBTmarketing, corporate communica-tions, public affairs and govern-ment relations, consumer technol-ogy, healthcare, sustainability, andvisual branding — to develop pro-grams that drive results andinspire action among key audi-ences. We help our clients steer theconversation surrounding theirbrands to increase trust and rele-vance and drive action among keystakeholders.

The cast of Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “The LittleRascals Save the Day” celebrate its premiere at the Roosevelt Hotelin Hollywood, with media coordination by Marketing Maven.





Our clients choose us, stay withus and grow with us because weapproach their business with thesame passion as they do, and withthe same entrepreneurial spiritupon which this agency was built.

NANCY J. FRIEDMAN PUBLICRELATIONS, INC.

35 East 21st Street, 8th Fl.New York, NY 10010212/228-1500Fax: 212/[email protected]

Nancy J. Friedman, President

NJFPR’s “Leave No StoneUnturned” philosophy has cata-pulted the firm to the top of thecategory in travel and hospitality.For clients seeking senior levelcounsel, advocacy of their productand unrivalled media savvy,Nancy J. Friedman PublicRelations is a first-stop. A self-described “media junkie withwanderlust,” Nancy and her teampride themselves on long-termpartnerships with clients and theability to wring every ounce ofmarketing potential out of a prop-erty or destination utilizing socialmedia, traditional media, eventsand creative promotions. TheAgency pioneered NY’s firstHotel Week on January 2012 togreat success and increased partic-ipation in 2014. This year, NJFPRis opening a west coast office andlaunching its eponymous HotelWeek program in LA. The agencyhas also hired a social mediastrategist to extend its marketingbandwidth to include a digitalstrategy.

Clients include: Borgata HotelCasino & Spa, Atlantic City;Condado Vanderbilt, San Juan,Puerto Rico; Copamarina BeachResort & Spa, Guanica, PuertoRico; Farmer’s Museum,Cooperstown, NY; Fenimore ArtMuseum, Cooperstown, NewYork; Gansevoort Meatpacking,New York; Gansevoort ParkAvenue New York; GansevoortTurks + Caicos; Hotel ElConvento, San Juan, Puerto Rico;JW Marriott Camelback InnResort & Spa, Scottsdale; LaConcha Resort: A RenaissanceHotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico;

Marmara, Park Avenue, New York; Margaux, New York; MarriottCourtyard Isla Verde, Puerto Rico;New York Palace Hotel, NewYork; nyma, the new york manhat-tan hotel, New York; Pier AHarbor House and BMB, NYC;Refinery Hotel, New York;Rendezvous, St. Lucia; Sea Island,Georgia ; Sheraton Hotels &Resorts; Spring Creek Ranch,Jackson Hole, WY; St.Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida;The Body Holiday, St. Lucia; TheBowery Hotel, New York; TheHotel @ Times Square, New York;The Jade, New York; The Jane,New York; The Ludlow Hotel,New York; The Maritime Hotel,New York; The Pod Hotel, NewYork; The Water Club - ASignature Hotel by Borgata; TheWellness Centre at The BodyHoliday, St.Lucia; Westin Hotels& Resorts; and Gemma at TheBowery Hotel, New York.

PADILLACRT

1101 West River Pkwy.Minneapolis, MN 55415612/455-1700Fax: 612/455-1060www.padillacrt.com

Lynn Casey, CEOMark Raper, PresidentPatrice Tanaka, Chief Counselor &Creative StrategistKelly O’Keefe, Chief CreativeStrategy OfficerMichael Whitlow, Chief GrowthOfficerMarian Briggs, Matt Kucharski,Brian Ellis, Mike Mulvihill,Executive VPsGreg Tarmin, Sr. VP, ManagingDirector, NYC

PadillaCRT is one of the top 10independent agencies in the coun-try. The firm helps clients engageand inspire stakeholders in healthcare, food and beverage, consumergoods, financial services, manufac-turing, technology, and agribusi-ness. PadillaCRT has specializedtalent in branding, research, corpo-rate and investor relations, creative,digital, crisis management, andsocial media, and is a foundingpartner of the Worldcom Group, apartnership of 100 independentlyowned offices in 133 cities on sixcontinents.

Clients include 3M, BASF,Barnes & Noble College, Cargill,Girl Scouts of the USA, HassAvocado Board, Land O’Lakes,Merck, Rockwell Automation, RTISurgical, SAP, UnitedHealthGroup, U.S. Highbush BlueberryCouncil and Wines from Rioja.

PEPPERCOMM

470 Park Ave. South, 4th flr. NorthNew York, NY 10016212/931-6100Fax: 212/[email protected]

Steve Cody, Co-CEO & Co-FounderEd Moed, Co-CEO & Co-FounderAnn Barlow, Partner & President,West CoastTed Birkhahn,Partner & PresidentDeborah Brown, Partner &Managing DirectorJacqueline Kolek, Partner &Managing DirectorMaggie O’Neill, Partner & SeniorDirectorMichael Dresner, CEO, BrandSquared Licensing

Peppercomm is an award-win-ning strategic, integrated communi-cations and marketing firm head-quartered in New York City withoffices in San Francisco andLondon that prides itself on listen-ing first, last and always. The firm’stagline: “Listen. Engage. Repeat.”emphasizes the unique approach theagency takes in understandingexactly how a client can engage inauthentic conversations with itsaudience. The firm has been in con-stant motion since its founding 19years ago, evolving from a mediarelations generalist to full-serviceintegrated strategic communica-tions consultancy with deep expert-ise for four key areas —consumer/lifestyle, financial servic-es, professional services and indus-trial/B2B. To that end, in 2013, theagency acquired Janine GordonAssociates and Walek & Associatesto enhance and deepen our expert-ise in the luxury lifestyle and finan-cial services spaces and offer aunique blend of breadth of serviceofferings and depth of industryexpertise.

Peppercomm was recognized byCrain’s New York Business as theNo. 1 Best Place to Work in NewYork in 2012. This was due in largepart to the firm’s comedy experi-ence. Comedy is central to the cul-ture here, and it serves as an internaltraining mechanism and as a serviceoffering for our clients. Comedytraining workshops are mandatoryat Peppercomm and help our staffwith presentation and listeningskills, thinking on their feet and alsohow to read an audience. We’vesuccessfully conducted workshopsfor clients as well, and through thisinnovative service, we are able toinfuse humor into our culture,

enhance team-building, andbecome great listeners.

Key clients include: AmericanInstitute of Architects, EY, EulerHermes, Financial AccountingFoundation / Financial AccountingStandards Board/GovernmentalAccounting Standards Board,Lincoln Financial, MINI USA,Northeastern University,Oppenheimer, Paulson & Co.,Pershing, Saint Gobain, Sharp,Steelcase, Sterling National Bank,TGI Fridays, Tyco Fire & Security,Vonage, WebMD, Wells Fargo andWilbur Ellis.

PIERPONT COMMUNICATIONS

1800 West Loop South, Suite 800Houston, TX 77027713/627-2223www.piercom.com

Phil Morabito, CEO

For 27 years, Pierpont has beenengaging audiences through astrategic combination of publicrelations, media outreach, thoughtleadership, marketing, advocacyand digital and social program-ming. Using our proprietaryD· I· R· E· C· T to Customersapproach which ensures on-targetcreativity and measurable results,we produce the Big Ideas that effi-ciently move the business needlein the right direction. Our globalcapability, depth of experience,blue-chip client roster and award-winning programming squarelyposition Pierpont as the “chal-lenger brand” that thinks strategi-cally, moves quickly and deliversflawless execution.

From fast moving consumergoods to energy, healthcare, pro-fessional services and member-based associations, Pierpontserves clients across the spectrumof business from our four officesin the Southwest’s largest andfastest-growing markets. Fortyfull-time, multi-specialty profes-sionals – many with more thantwo decades of experience – part-ner shoulder-to-shoulder with ourclients across the nation andaround the world.

Pierpont’s slate of specializedservices include media relations,identity and brand building,thought leadership, marketing,digital and social, crisis andissues management, public affairsand government relations, corpo-rate citizenship and graphic


MWW0Continued from page 71




design. Every company and everyindustry is unique, each requiringa customized communicationsapproach. At Pierpont, we deeplyimmerse ourselves in everyengagement and we know that ourjob, always, is to objectivelyadvise our clients and providestrategic counsel that culminatesin a distinct competitive edge.

Clients: BP, BHP Billiton,Capital One Bank, CoAdvantage,Energy Ventures, Five StatesEnergy, Kentz, Kepner-Tregoe,Seton Healthcare Family, TargetLogistics, Texas Association ofRealtors, Verizon Wireless, WasteManagement, and Wood Group.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS

INC.

Partner in the Worldcom PublicRelations GroupOne East Wacker Dr., #2450Chicago, IL 60601312/558-1770Fax: 312/[email protected]

Dorothy Oliver Pirovano, CEOJill Allread, Pres.Kathleen Boylan, Leigh Wagner,Mary Erangey, Remi Gonzalez,Sr. VPsRuth Mugalian, Pam Morris, BethSchlesinger, Wendi Koziol, JackWlezien, Johnathon Briggs, VPs

Public Communications Inc.provides strategic counsel toclients, whether we’re dealingwith the most serious and complexissue, a national awareness cam-paign or the splashiest of events —and we’ve been doing so for morethan 50 years.

Our job is to safeguard reputa-tions and recommend the rightway for clients to communicate sowhat they have to say is heard andinfluences their audiences. We arean integrated communicationsfirm, large enough to provide allthe communications services aclient might require but smallenough that the firm’s officers aredirectly involved, hands-on, ineach client’s program.

We have a strong concentrationof business in healthcare, conser-vation/environment, education,entertainment/culture/sports and aspecial category we call “every-

thing Chicago,” a diverse group ofclients from tech to nonprofits,entrepreneurs to advocacy groupsthat want to make their presenceknown in the metropolitan areaand region.

Clients: Academy of GeneralDentistry, AIDS Foundation ofChicago, American Academy ofDermatology, American Academyof Hospice and PalliativeMedicine, American Associationof Cardiovascular and PulmonaryRehabilitation, AmericanAssociation of Diabetes Educators, American Board of MedicalSpecialties, American Board ofOral and Maxillofacial Surgery,American Board of Radiology,American College of Allergy,Asthma & Immunology, AmericanHealth Information ManagementAssociation, American Society ofHome Inspectors, America's BloodCenters, AstraZeneca Health CareFoundation, BloodSource,Chicago Zoological Society,Brookfield Zoo, Columbus Zooand Aquarium, Free to Breathe,Georgia Aquarium, Hard RockCafe, Infectious Diseases Societyof America, John G. SheddAquarium, Legoland DiscoveryCenter, Livingston International,Museum of Science and Industry,National Society of GeneticCounselors, Radiological Societyof North America, Society ofGynecologic Oncology , Societyof Interventional Radiology,University of North CarolinaHealth Care System, WalgreensSpecialty Pharmacy, and WorldAssociation of Zoos andAquariums.

RBB PUBLIC RELATIONS

355 Alhambra Circle, Suite 800Miami, FL 33134305/448-7450www.rbbpr.com

Christine Barney, CEOLisa Ross, PresidentTina Elmowitz, Executive VPJohn Quinn, Executive VP

Four-time “ U.S. PR Agency ofthe Year” winner, rbb PublicRelations is a national marketingcommunications firm with a repu-tation for delivering award-win-ning results and best practices toclients who seek and appreciatethe individual attention only a bou-tique agency can provide. As thechampion for breakout brands, rbbinspires companies with insightson creating customer passion to

increase sales. rbb’s multicultural staff delivers

award-winning creativity, mediarelations, corporate counsel, prod-uct introductions, digital media,content creation and results/analyt-ics. Specialty practices includeconsumer products/services, trav-el, health, sports & entertainment,B2B, and higher education.

Some of rbb’s breakout brandclients include: Adrienne ArshtCenter for Performing Arts, AppleLeisure Group, Arnstein & Lehr,Bank of America, BreathlessResorts & Spas, Codina Partners,Cross Country Home Services,Deca TV, DHL Express, Disney onIce, Dreams Resorts & Spas,Duncan Hines, Engage, FirstService Residential, FlaglerDevelopment, Fleet Advantage,Florida International University,Florida Power and Light, Gunster,Home2 Suites by Hilton,Homewood Suites by Hilton,Johnson and Wales University,Kaplan University, KaufmanRossin, Miami Beckham United,Norwegian Cruise Line, RinglingBros. and Barnum & BaileyCircus, Secrets Resorts & Spas,Swire Properties, SunscapeResorts, United HomeCareServices, Vlasic and ZoëtryWellness & Spa Resorts. For moreinformation, call 305/448-7450 orvisit www.rbbpr.com

REVIVEHEALTHNashville (Headquarters)209 10th Avenue SouthSuite 214Nashville, TN 37203615/[email protected]

Santa Barbara915 Saint Vincent AvenueSanta Barbara, CA 93101805/617-2832

Brandon Edwards, Founder &CEOJoanne Thornton, Founder & CAOKriste Goad, CMOPhil Stone, COO

ReviveHealth is the leadingstrategic communication firmspecializing in Health Systems,Health Services, HealthTechnology, and HealthyLiving. We spend every dayimmersed in the business ofhealth care and are uniquelypositioned to help clients pre-dict problems, protect reputa-tions, build thought leadershipand craft compelling stories todrive business growth. Named

2014 Small PR Agency of theYear ( PRWeek), 2013 BoutiquePR Agency of the Year(PRWeek), and Best BoutiqueAgency to Work For (2013,2012, 2011) by The HolmesReport, ReviveHealth is amongthe nation’s Top 15 firms forhealth care strategic communi-cation (O’Dwyer’s). Clientsinclude major health systems,academic medical centers, hos-pitals and physician organiza-tions as well as health careindustry associations, healthtechnology companies, well-ness and population health com-panies, and health servicescompanies of all stripes andsizes, from start-up to enter-prise solutions.

RF|BINDER, INC.

950 Third Avenue, 7th FloorNew York, NY 10022212/[email protected]

Headquartered in New York,RF|Binder is an independent,full-service public relationsagency that creates, plans andexecutes successful communica-tions campaigns for clients froma range of industries.

Our client list includes some ofthe world’s leading corporationsand brands, many of whom haveworked with us since our found-ing 13 years ago, and each ofthem has increased their relation-ship with us as their businessneeds have expanded.

We recognized early the defin-ing role digital technology wouldplay in public relations, and inte-grate digital into every clientcampaign. Our senior counselorswork closely with clients todevelop the most effective solu-tions, and the absence of siloedpractice groups allows us to max-imize the impact of our intellec-tual capital and seamlessly serveour clients’ needs. This approach,along with our emphasis on cre-ativity and strategic research iswhat separates us from otherfirms. The result is world-classwork that enables us to attract thebest talent and the best clients.

The presence of so manyFortune 100 companies on ourclient roster is evidence that wehave so far succeeded in fulfillingour original objective: to offer thetalent and resources of a largeagency with the attention andresponsiveness of a small one.

PIERPONT0Continued from page 72




RUDER FINN, INC.

301 East 57th St.New York, NY 10022212/593-6400Fax: 212/593-6397

Kathy Bloomgarden, CEOMichael Schubert, ChiefInnovation OfficerLouise Harris, Chief GlobalStrategistRachel Spielman, Global Head ofCorporate CommunicationsScott Schneider, Chief DigitalOfficerSusan Goldstein, Global Head ofHealth & Wellness

Ruder Finn is one of the largestindependent global communica-tions agencies with offices acrossNorth America, Europe and Asia.With approximately 540 employ-ees globally, Ruder Finn isuniquely positioned to provideclients with global perspective,insights and resources, yet smallenough to bring the exceptionalclient service, creative edge andinnovation of a boutique agency.We concentrate on big pictureassignments where we can createa competitive edge for our clientswith a strong focus on globalstrategy, creativity and qualityexecution. Our independence,deep bench of talent, entrepre-neurial spirit and roots in the arts,dating back to our founding in1948, drives us to bring a “cre-ative edge,” which we see as thefreedom of imagination to seethings in a new way and thesharpness of thinking to our glob-al clients.

Ruder Finn’s core areas ofexpertise are corporate communi-cations, healthcare, technologyand consumer. We particularlylead in corporate reputation,healthcare digital communica-tions, C-suite thought leadership,crisis communications, employeeengagement, community buildingand in cause-related work.Underpinning all of its offeringsis a consistent focus on digitalcontent and strategy through itsaward-winning full-service digitalpractice, RFI Studios.

We pride ourselves in ourentrepreneurial culture, where allemployees are empowered andencouraged to contribute at thehighest level. Senior leaders atRuder Finn are deeply involved inall accounts. The agency has wonawards for being a best place towork and has one of the bestturnover rates in the industry.

SACHS MEDIAGROUP

114 S. Duval St.Tallahassee, FL 32301850/222-1996Fax: 850/224-2882www.sachsmedia.comFacebook.com/SachsMediaTwitter.com/SachsMediaGrp

225 E. Robinson St., #455Orlando, FL 32801407/219-3157Fax: 407/219-3095

Ron Sachs, Pres. and CEOMichelle Ubben, Partner, COO,Dir. of Campaigns & BrandingGay Webster-Sachs, CFOMarilyn Siets, Deputy CFORyan Banfill, Partner & Director ofStrategy & ResearchLisa Garcia, VP of Operations &CampaignsJon Peck, VP of Public RelationsRyan Cohn, VP of Social/DigitalVicki Johnson, Senior VP ofCentral Florida Operations.

Sachs Media Group is Florida’sdominant public affairs communi-cations company for critical issuesand one of America’s leading inde-pendent communications compa-nies. With exceptional experienceand results in public affairs, brand-ing, social/digital and crisis com-munications, the firm combinesunparalleled relationships, newsjudgment, messaging, and story-telling ability with cutting-edgestrategies to engage audiences withcontent they seek and share. SachsMedia Group, formerly Ron SachsCommunications, is home to theteam best known for smart, strongand strategic counsel across thediverse and ever-changing medialandscape.

Clients: Accesso, AmericanChemistry Council, Andrew’sRestaurant and Catering,Automated HealthCare Solutions,Bridges of America, Capital HealthPlan, Florida, Consumer Federationof the Southeast, Creative Benefitsfor Educators, Deseret Ranch,Excellence in Education, FloridaAssociation of Insurance Agents,Florida Council of 100, FloridaDepartment of Education, FloridaDepartment of Veterans’ Affairs,Florida Healthy Kids Corporation,Florida High School AthleticAssociation, Florida Hospital,Florida League of Cities, FloridaNurses Association, FloridaSeaports, Florida State UniversityOffice of Admissions, FloridaVirtual School, Foley Timber andLand Company, Four Points

Sheraton Downtown Tallahassee,Goodwill Industries of the BigBend, Healthy CommunitiesCoalition, Lauren’s Kids, MiamiBeach Community Health Center,National League of Cities, PlazaTower, Nova SoutheasternUniversity, Ounce of Prevention,Pfizer, Southwest Georgia FarmCredit, Service Contract IndustryCouncil, and Wexford HealthSources.

SCHNEIDER ASSOCIATES

2 Oliver St., Suite 901Boston, MA 02109617/536-3300Fax: 617/[email protected]

Joan Schneider, CEOPhil Pennellatore, President

When leading companies, pro-fessional services organizations andentrepreneurs seek a trusted com-munications partner, they turn toSchneider Associates, a full-servicepublic relations and integrated mar-keting agency. Specializing inLaunch Public Relations®, a propri-etary method of successfullylaunching and sustaining visibilityfor new products, services, compa-nies, organizations and communi-ties, or revitalizing existing ones,Schneider Associates represents awide range of clients in education,professional services, consumerfood and retail, and home prod-ucts/home improvement. CEO JoanSchneider has written two books onlaunching new products, includingThe New Launch Plan, as well as anarticle for the Harvard BusinessReview entitled “Why MostProduct Launches Fail.”

Agency services include inte-grated marketing and PR cam-paigns, content marketing for digi-tal and social campaigns, messag-ing, converged media strategy andexecution, public affairs, influencerprograms, special events, crisiscommunications, spokespersontraining, brand development,launch consulting, and creativeservices. Learn more at schneider-pr.com.

SINGER ASSOCIATES, INC.

47 Kearny St., 2nd Flr.San Francisco, CA 94108415/227-9700Fax: 415/348-8478

[email protected]

Sam Singer, PresidentSharon Singer, CFOAdam Alberti, Exec. VP

Singer Associates PublicRelations and Public Affairs is oneof the nation’s leading public rela-tions, corporate communicationsand issue management agencies.

The agency dominates the spacewhere news media, government,the public, and communities inter-sect.

Singer is the leading communi-cations agency for managementlabor issues, environmental, ener-gy, transportation, housing, realestate, land use, financial, govern-ment advocacy and political cam-paigns in California.

Singer Associates is cited as thetop “issues-oriented agency in theUnited States” and “quite simply,one of the best small to mid-sizeagencies in the country” by TheHolmes Report. Most recently, themagazine selected Singer as the“Public Affairs Agency of theYear,” stating that “[Singer] has asimple definition of success: (TheAgency) knows its achieved itwhen its clients emerge victoriousin litigation, labor and land use dis-putes; when they win political cam-paigns, defeat unwanted regulation,or manage issues so they don’t turninto crises ...”

SPECTRUM SCIENCE

COMMUNICATIONS

2001 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.2nd Flr.Washington, DC 20006 202/955-6222Fax: 202/955-0044 [email protected]

John J. Seng, CEO & FounderJonathan Wilson, PresidentCarlen Lea Lesser, LissetteLinares, Pam Lippincott,Amanda Sellers, MaureenVarnon, Sr. VPs

Spectrum is an independent,full-service communications coun-seling firm which has made healthand science our specialty since1996. At Spectrum, storytelling isour business. The most compellingstory is usually the one where sci-ence wins the day. Science buildsbrands, establishes leadership,





helps inoculate against potentialissues and transcends borders. Weuse science and storytelling toshape game-changing conversa-tions that excite people about thepossibilities of science and thepromise of new treatments, com-municating complex information ina way that makes sense to audi-ences. We help tell stories to theright people in the right way.

Clients include consumer prod-ucts companies, device and diag-nostic companies, environmentalorganizations, food and nutritioncompanies, government agencies,health and wellness organizations,institutions (hospital or academic),non-profit associations, patientadvocacy organizations, pharma-ceutical and biotechnology compa-nies, and professional societies.

SPM COMMUNICATIONS

2030 Main St., Ste. 325Dallas, TX 75201214/379-700024-hour media line: 817/329-3257www.spmcommunications.com

Dallas • Denver •New York • Atlanta

Suzanne Parsonage Miller,President & Founder

Founded in 1999, SPM is athriving Dallas-based PR agencywith national reach, promoting andprotecting iconic food, restaurant,retail and franchise brands throughmedia relations, social media strat-egy, spokesperson training and cri-sis management. Our “No Jerks”policy, which was featured in TheWall Street Journal, is the core ofSPM’s culture. It means we fosteran atmosphere of mutual respectand trust among clients, teammembers and company leaders.

From former newspaperreporters and TV journalists tosocial media strategists, media rela-tions specialists and corporatecommunications experts, our teamis made up of experienced profes-sionals who approach each client’sbrand holistically. Whether theclient is a category-leading nationalpowerhouse or a start-up, SPMworks to build businesses by cre-atively telling clients’ stories inmany voices to many audiences tonot only resonate with consumers,but provide measurable ROI.

TAYLOR

Empire State Building350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3800New York, NY 10118212/[email protected]

Tony Signore, CEO & ManagingPartnerBryan Harris, COO & ManagingPartner

Celebrating its 30th anniversaryin 2014, Taylor is guided by aclearly defined and ambitiousvision that serves as an inspirationfor every professional within ourorganization: to be the preferredbrand counselor and public rela-tions partner to a select portfolio ofleading consumer brands by utiliz-ing lifestyle, sports and entertain-ment platforms to engage con-sumers and drive business growth.Taylor’s unique business modelcalls for an alliance with just 15client partners, all category leadingconsumer brands such as: Allstate,Capital One, Diageo, GeneralMills, Kraft, NASCAR, Nestle,Nike/Jordan, P&G, 3M, R.J.Reynolds, Starwood, and TacoBell. The agency’s roots are firmlyplanted in the world of sports andits legacy of developing and acti-vating award-winning campaignsfor leading marketers in support ofU.S. and global sports sponsorshipsis unparalleled. Headquartered inNew York, Taylor has offices inCharlotte, Los Angeles, andChicago. In 2010, The HolmesReport selected Taylor as“Consumer Agency of theDecade.” Further recognition wasbestowed upon the agency when aHarvard University case study waspublished. “Transformation atTaylor” closely analyzes the impactof the agency’s strategic and finan-cial performance prior to and fol-lowing the Taylor managementteam’s bold decision to lead organi-zational change.

TREVELINO/KELLER

949 W. Marietta St., Suite X-106Atlanta, GA 30318404/214-0722Fax: 404/214-0729dtrevelino@trevelinokeller.comwww.trevelinokeller.comwww.start-opia.com

Dean Trevelino, Genna Keller,Principals

With Q1 2014 marking our bestquarter to date, we are seeing thesuccess of our integrated public

relations approach. Middle marketand emerging clients are respond-ing exceptionally well to a PR-ledstrategy with the single source solu-tion for social media, digital andweb creative across our six corepractices — technology, corporate,lifestyle, food & beverage, healthand greenworks. While there’sincreased attention and demand forprograms and campaigns that affectthe bottom line, more companiesare understanding and respondingto the importance of reputationmanagement and its relationship tofinancial performance. Our servicemix continues to focus on protect-ing, preserving and promoting rep-utation.

In 2014, we are also experienc-ing a significant uptick in fundedstartup business and our efforts toown the position as the number oneagency in the region is paying off.Currently, we represent two of themore important groups — AtlantaTech Angels and the Atlanta TechVillage in addition to a number ofearly stage companies. Both ATAand ATV are supportive of theagency’s larger initiative to estab-lish a new media brand in the mar-ketplace called Start-Opia.Launching in the spring, Start-Opiais a Southeast based ecosystem forbringing together startups, capital-ists, experts, institutions and associ-ations through a directory, newsfeed, blog, radio program and TVlibrary.

Additionally, the firm anticipatesrelevant growth with its food andbeverage practice where it canleverage its Consume Brands initia-tive, a consortium of four partnersthat offer Creation (Culinary Arts),Activation (Concept Incubation),Reputation (PR, Social, BrandIdentity) and Acceleration (BrandExtension). Early projects underConsume include Santo Water andBelles Organics.

Recognized as one of the 30 bestfirms to work for in North America,Trevelino/Keller boasts the highestagency retention rate. For moreinformation, [email protected] [email protected].

W2O GROUP60 Francisco StreetSan Francisco, CA 94133415/362-5018Fax: 415/362-5019 [email protected]

Jim Weiss, Chairman & CEOBob Pearson, PresidentTony Esposito, CFOMike Hartman, CCO

Paul Dyer, CCOJohn Cunningham, CTODave Mihalovic, COO

W2O Group provides integratedcommunications, business andtechnology services to diverseorganizations in industries rangingfrom healthcare to consumergoods, entertainment, automotive,aviation and technology.

W2O Group is an independentnetwork of complementary market-ing, communications, research, anddevelopment firms focused on uni-fied business solutions to drivechange and growth through “prag-matic disruption” for the world’sleading brands and organizations.W2O Group serves clients througha network of firms — WCG, TwistMktg, and BrewLife — throughoffices in San Francisco, NewYork, Austin, Los Angeles, Atlanta,Minneapolis, Boston, and London.

THE ZIMMERMANAGENCY

1821 Miccosukee CommonsTallahassee, FL 32308850/668-2222www.zimmerman.com

Carrie Zimmerman, President

The Zimmerman Agency blendsbold basics and endless energywith strategic creativity, capturingrevenue-driving results. Ranked byO’Dwyer’s as one of the largesthospitality public relations firms inthe United States, the agencyamplifies brands with the potentcombination of the public relationsdivision and a robust, 40-persondigital/social discipline. Theempowering and creative culture ofThe Zimmerman Agency yieldsfresh, dynamic dimensions of con-sumer influence.

The global hospitality divisionincludes clients from Hard RockHotels & Casinos to Club Med,luxury properties including LittlePalm Island in the Florida Keys,Waikoloa in Hawaii and Casa deCampo in the Dominican Republic,as well as destinations like NorthCarolina’s Crystal Coast and thecountry of Aruba.

An invigorated consumer divi-sion boasts national brands includ-ing Party City, Pilot Pens, CooperTire, Firehouse Subs, Homes.com,TPC and the newly re-launchedWonder Bread.

The Zimmerman Agency blursthe lines of traditional public rela-tions, attracting some of America’smost iconic brands, in and out ofthe world of hospitality. £

SPECTRUM SCIENCE0Continued from page 76



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OPINION Professional Development

Anderson Cooper introduced his “60Minutes” subject as “the pony-tailed assassin, 5-foot-4 and 102

pounds, a Boston native and hometownMarathon favorite.”

Shalane Flanagan: Maybe it’s just aBostonian thing, but Iwas really genuinelyjust pissed off thatsomeone would ruinsuch a-- what is sucha celebratory day anda historical momentwith that kind ofaction.

Whoa! Did I justhear what I think Iheard?

Anderson Cooper:You were angry?

Shalane Flanagan:I was angry. I wasreally pissed off that

someone would do this. It’s like it was apersonal attack to my city.

America’s longest-running and most

respected magazine broadcast had declaredthat if you’re “p.o.’ed,” by golly, we’ll letthe viewers know.

A few days earlier, in an NYU publicrelations class, a student was graded downfor using the exact same language in amock presentation. Said the prudishinstructor: “If one listener is alienated byyour use of questionable language, thenyou won’t get the sale.”

Fortunately, the marked-down studentdidn’t see “60 Minutes” to demand recon-sideration of his grade!

But it is legitimate to ask: “What shouldbe the standards — in speech and writing— to which public relations professionalsare held?”

You don’t need to see the latest tweetfrom US Airways to recognize that overthe past decade, standards throughout soci-ety have not only been diminished —they’ve been demolished. Vulgarity andprofanity in the culture has become socommonplace that nobody bats an eyewhen Miley Cyrus twerks or Howard Sternspews or Jay Z tours the White House. Inthe 21st century, such low-lifes are lauded.

And standards in the broader societyhave followed suit.

News organizations, like CBS andeven The New York Times, have bowedto common use and accepted off-colorphrases, like “pissed off” and “thatsucks.”

Publishing companies, desperate for abook that makes money, rush out titleslike “On Bulls**#,” “A**holes, ATheory,” and the best-selling children’sbook (for goddsakes), “Go the F**k toSleep.”

And even in those bastions of civilityand conservatism, corporate C-suitesand high government offices, the lan-guage has disintegrated. When formerState Department spokesman and cele-brated Benghazi cover-upper VictoriaNuland was caught saying, “F**k theEU,” to a stunned colleague, diplomacyitself became undiplomatic.

So, in this world of steadily-descend-ing speech and language standards, whyisn’t it perfectly acceptable for publicrelations professionals to follow suit?After all, the people for whom we workcurse and swear and use the mostunseemly language in all variety of ven-ues without hesitation. And nobodyseems to mind.

So what’s the big deal?Here’s the answer:Public relations people are supposed to

be “professional communicators,” theyshould set the standard for proper andpertinent communication, whether inspeaking or in writing or in communi-cating on social media.

Just as the Associated Press Stylebook— the standard-bearing bible for jour-nalists — continues to hold the lineagainst its members using obscenities inprint, so, too, must public relations peo-ple be the models for propriety in lan-guage, even as most of those aroundthem succumb to the lowest commondenominator.

Public relations professionals shouldstand for something more.

The field of public relations, despiteits growth and acceptance as a modernbusiness practice, is still largely misun-derstood by most and condemned bymany.

High ethics and superior standardsaren’t what most people expect frompublic relations professionals.

So wouldn’t it be something, then, if itwere public relations people who led thefight to raise the standards of moderncommunications discourse?

As a more refined pony-tailed assassinmight put it, “That would really get ourcritics ticked off!” £

Fraser P. Seitel hasbeen a communicationsconsultant, author andteacher for 30 years.He is the author of thePrentice-Hall text, ThePractice of PublicRelations.

By Fraser Seitel

PR profanity standards


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OPINION

Membership in PR Society ofAmerica, currently barred toreporters, would give them

access to the 22,000-member database.Catherine Bolton, a career PR person

who headed the stafffrom 2001-2006,had a policy of send-ing the members’directory to a list ofmajor editors.Publication of thedirectory was haltedafter the 2005 edi-tion.

There is a largeimbalance in the

availability of press contact points andPR contact points.

Vocus, Cision, BusinessWire and PRNewswire, “gold” ($20,000) sponsors ofthe 2014 annual conference of theSociety in Washington, D.C., and peren-nial major sponsors of the conference,sell to PR people the access points ofhundreds of thousands of editors includ-ing phones, cell phones, e-mails, address-es and dossiers on the editors in someinstances. The contact points are in a con-venient, heavily indexed form.

The Society’s Blue Book of membersperformed the same type of role for edi-tors seeking access to individual PR peo-ple or by their employer or geographicallocation.

An attempt by this reporter to join theSociety in April was rebuffed by VP-PRStephanie Cegielski although we quali-fied on at least three grounds (doing PRfor the company, being involved inresearch, and supervising employee rela-tions). The reason for the rejection, shesaid, was the 23 pages of charges againstus that were in a Society letter dated Sept.1, 2011. Cegielski said she would exam-ine our rebuttals of 35 different offenseswe were accused of if we put them inwriting. That was done in a web postingApril 15.

The Society’s letter reprinted the Codeof Ethics of the Society of ProfessionalJournalists and implied that JackO’Dwyer was not following them. TheCode is available on the SPJ website,www.spj.org. Following are the Society’saccusations and our responses.

Misrepresented PRSA’s financial con-dition and accounting practices.a) PRSA financial statements are reviewedinternally by PRSA’s Finance Committee, AuditCommittee and Board of Directors, and are

made available to PRSA members. This processresults in full disclosure of our financial infor-mation in accordance with all applicable dead-lines and legal and regulatory requirements. Inthe article excerpted below, you allege that thePRSA Board is attempting to deprive PRSAmembers of financial information.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “PRSA ‘Audit’ IsSuperficial, Misleading,” Friday, July 22, 2011,www.odwyerpr.com.)

Hogwash. The PKF audit and its pred-ecessors are superficial documents usedby the PRSA board to deprive membersof their right to know how their money isbeing spent.b) PRSA dues are nonrefundable. TheGenerally Accepted Accounting Principles(GAAP) established by the Federal AccountingStandards Board (FASB) state that it is accept-able to book nonrefundable revenues uponreceipt. PRSA’s current independent auditor,PKF International, as well as other independ-ent auditors who have reviewed PRSA’sfinances over the course of several years, allhave concluded that PRSA dues revenue isaccounted for properly in PRSA’s quarterly andannual financial statements.In the articles excerpted below, you allege thatPRSA’s financial statements violate FASBaccounting guidelines.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “PRSA Financial ReportViolates FASB Rules,” Thursday, July 21, 2011,www.odwyerpr.com.)(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Only a Brief Period toMake Mark for (PRSA president and CEO),”Feb. 2, 2006, www.odwyerpr.com.)c) Each year, PRSA’s financial statements arereviewed by independent, external auditors.PRSA provides no direction to its auditors dur-ing the audit process. Furthermore, PRSArebids its audit services periodically, as a wayof ensuring its auditors’ independence andmanaging costs.In the article excerpted below, you allege thatPRSA directed the work of its independentauditors. You also allege that the independentauditors used by PRSA over the years quit orwere fired by PRSA, allegedly for refusing tofollow PRSA’s direction.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Financial OversightLacking at PRSA,” July 13, 2011, www.odwyer-pr.com.)The PR Society, which is seeking a $30 duesincrease from members this year. (sic) is incon-sistent in handling its deferred dues account. Itraids the account when it needs to beautify thebooks for consumption by members.No. 8 is the continued false accounting onPRSA dues, which are booked immediately ascash and called ‘reserves’ when they are a lia-bility for future services owed to members. ...the new boards headed by (PRSA Chair) in2001 and (PRS Chair) in 2002 ordered D&T tosign off on non-referral of dues again. D&Tquit. The Society announced in early 2002 thatit was looking for a new auditor after the 2001audit was finished. It looks like D&T wouldn’tgo along with the reversion to not deferringdues income. D&T had replaced Ernst &Young in 1992 which was the first audit after

E&Y apparently was ordered by the Society todrop the Statement of Functional Expenses. Itappears that E&Y quit rather than take part inthe truncated functional expenses.

Section 958-605-25-1 of the FinancialAccounting Standards Board (not the“Federal” Accounting Standards Boardcited by the Society) says that dues are tobe booked as earned over the period cov-ered by the dues which is one year in thecase of the Society.

It books them as cash, inflating its netassets by about $2.5 million (since 2013dues income was about $5 million). Themajor professional groups (ABA, AMA,AICPA, ASAE, IABC, etc.) defer half ormore of their dues income. This is notonly an accounting rule, but commonsense. Income is to be booked as earned.A group can contend that since it won’trefund dues, it can count them as cash.But members are misled as to the size of“net assets.”b) In the e-mail below, you threaten to preju-dice the relationship between the editor ofPRSA’s Public Relations Journal and the uni-versity that employs him. You also acknowledgewriting to bias the employment relationships ofother PRSA leaders.(Source: Excerpts of July 9, 2009, e-mail fromJack O’Dwyer to the editor of PRSA’s PublicRelations Journal, who is a professor of publicrelations at a Massachusetts university.)The reference is to PR’s most visible PR educa-tor, Donald Wright, PR professor at BostonUniversity and editor of the online PR Journalof the Society for its first eight years until theend of 2013. We wondered if Wright was awarethat he was being referenced in the 23-pages ofcharges against us. We told BU PresidentRobert Brown about the 18-years that theSociety copied and sold authors’ articles with-out their permission and also described theSociety as “anti-information, anti-intellectual,anti-democracy, anti-press and anti-member.”c) After reporting multiple times that PRSAfailed to accommodate you, when you statedyou were “having trouble hearing the presenta-tions” at PRSA’s 2009 National Assembly, youattempted to prejudice the relationship betweenthe PRSA chair [Gary McCormick] and theboard of a local nonprofit organization for thedeaf, on which he sits. [The Knoxville Center ofthe Deaf].I noticed you being on the board of the (City)[Knoxville] Center of the Deaf and almostchoked. The Society was awful to me at theAssembly where lawyers for the National Assn.of the Deaf assure me I have full legal rights tobe able to hear since I was invited, creden-tialled (sic) press. My e-mails (sic) to (the orga-nization’s) board and staff members is below. Iam working all weekend on this story.

This was the most important Assembly inthe 63-year history of PRS since it was con-

O’Dwyer Co. seeks PRSA memberships for press

Jack O’Dwyer

Opinion




sidering a complete revision of the bylaws.Basic Robert’s and parliamentary ruleswere ignored, including the use of proxyvotes and failure to discuss all articles in therevision. PRS refused to let us have assis-tive hearing devices or sit in the front of theAssembly. McCormick could have rectifiedthis by getting us both the audiotape andtranscript of the 5.5 hours of discussion anddebate. It’s inconsistent for him to be on theboard of the Knoxville Center of the Deafwhile also refusing to make up for PRS’simproper and unethical interference withour coverage. Interfered with the employment andeducational relationships of PRSA lead-ers and volunteers.a) In the e-mail below, you attempt to prejudicethe relationship between a candidate forPRSA’s Board of Directors, [Mickey Nall] andthe university where he is public relations exec-utive in residence.(Source: July 11, 2011 e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the University of Oregon.)I’m hoping someone from the School ofJournalism and Communication will look intothe current and recent history of PR Society ofAmerica. (Candidate) of (Firm), who has justbeen named “PR Executive in Residence” at(University), is seeking the highest elective postof PRSA. I have a number of questions aboutthe ethical conduct of the Society. I can’t seehow (University) can be connected to this anti-information, anti-intellectual, anti-democracy,anti-press and anti-member (PRSA) regime. Itdrags your name and (university’s) namethrough the PRS mud. Since PRS is refusing toanswer any of my questions and even ducksmember questions, I am writing to the employ-ers of board members and others connectedwith PRS to point out the blatant abuses in thisgroup. PRS simply doesn’t want any regulation(by me). Our country is in the tank because bigbiz and financiers escaped regulation.Since you and I have talked to each other a lot,I’m telling you I will contact all known officialsof (university) and ask for an investigation ofthe PR Society. If they take one look ... they willdemand you separate yourself from PRS.Usually I don’t tell PRS leaders I’m writing totheir employers because none of them talk tome or answer any e-mails. PRS’s (sic) censor-ship and repressive practices are just like thoseof Iran and China. ... I have only begun.

The unnamed person is Mickey Nall,managing director of Ogilvy PRWorldwide, who became chair of theSociety in 2013 and who was named “PRExecutive in Residence” at the Universityof Oregon in 2011. Coincidentally, UofO isalso where one of the Society-copiedauthors, Prof. Tom Bivins, is “Media EthicsChair.” Bivins had joined us and 11 otherauthors in 1994 in a bid to get compensa-tion from the Society. (Source: Jan. 9, 2010, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the chair and CEO of PRSA.)Investigated personal details in the private livesof PRSA leaders and volunteers.a) In the article excerpted below, your“newsletter” alleges that the partner of PRSA’s

president and CEO died of AIDS; this, despiteyour having been sent a written statement,prior to the publication date of this article,making it clear that the death was not AIDSrelated.(Source: Author unknown, “PR Opinion Items,”Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter [Internet edition],March 24, 2004.)

This false charge was dealt with by anO’Dwyer web posting Nov. 2, 2011. Aclaim by Yann is that I alleged that thepartner of 2004 president Del Gallowaydied of AIDS — a disease which carries astrong social stigma — despite havingbeen told specifically that AIDS was notthe cause of death. Yann added: “Was thatethical journalistic conduct? If he workedat The New York Times, would he stillhave a job? At News of theWorld…maybe.”(Source: Dec. 30, 2008, e-mail from the JackO’Dwyer to PRSA’s chair and CEO.)

No O’Dwyer publication or theO’Dwyer website ever mentioned theword AIDS in connection with the deathof dentist Keith Francois [life partner ofGalloway] until Melanie Husk, a co-worker of Galloway’s, said that Francoisdid not die of AIDS. She would not givethe cause of death. b) In the e-mails to PRSA’s chair and CEOexcerpted below, you seek information abouthis family (wife, brother and minor children)and marital status, and present facts that seem-ingly arose out of your private investigations ofthese individuals.I’m surprised that you’re a twin and I certainlywill mention it. I noticed you gave a number ofpersonal details including that you have threechildren. However, we got their ages but nottheir names. We also don’t have your wife’sname. What is the name of your twin and whatis he doing with his life?I looked up the law on Google and since you’rea public figure in business you’re as public asthe two Presidential candidates. They don’thide their children or other relatives. Also, howcan you have kids without a wife? She deservescredit.(Source: Dec. 31, 2008, e-mail from the JackO’Dwyer to PRSA’s chair and CEO.)(Source: Jan. 5, 2009, e-mail from the JackO’Dwyer to PRSA’s chair and CEO.)(Source: March 28, 2009, e-mail from the JackO’Dwyer to PRSA’s chair and CEO.)If you’re going to talk about your children, youshould give their names and your wife’s name.The mother should get credit. ... Is your twin aman or a woman, paternal twins or identical.This person should have a name. You shouldn’tgive out parts of information. I usually don’tdelve into the personal lives of people but inthis case they may be affecting their perform-ance of their duties at the Society. Reports arewidespread that (PRSA COO) went through adivorce last year and (PRSA Chair) is nowgoing through a divorce. I usually don’t coverpersonal lives ... but marriage and divorce arepublic acts. (PRSA COO and PRSA Chair) are“limited” public figures in the PR industry.Their personal lives are now under discussionby members and I think the air should be

cleared. As for your private life, you have madea big issue out of portraying yourself as amodel husband, father and community member.You pointed out in your pitch for (PRSA’sChairmanship) how much you like workingwith children (“I coach a lot of kids in severaldifferent sports and that’s one of my greatestleadership opportunities”—from Tactics) andthe fact that you started a lacrosse league in(state). You have mentioned the ages of yourchildren, 9, 7 and 4, and the fact that you havea twin sister. You talk at length about yourfather (Father’s Name) with whom I had manycontacts since his firm (Firm Name) was one ofthe first PR firms to go public. You lost owner-ship of this firm, selling it to (Acquiring FirmName). You have provided numerous factsabout your private life and now you suddenlysay it’s off-limits. Your divorce or separation orwhatever should be candidly discussed.Reports like this fly around, as you well know,and nobody knows the real truth until you tellthem. It’s obvious something is amiss because,while you mention your children, you nevergive any credit to your wife, (Wife’s Name)(whom I met once at a Society national confer-ence).

Cherenson mentioned his three chil-dren (9, 7 and 4) in interviews with otherPR media, as well as his twin sister andhis father, and otherwise portrayed him-self as a model father and husband,telling how he helped to form a lacrosseleague in New Jersey. I never “sought”any information about his children orfamily. When I asked him why he nevermentioned his wife, Gail, he claimed Iwas harassing him. The children were notmentioned in any stories.c) In the e-mails to a candidate for PRSA’sBoard of Directors excerpted below, you seekinformation about her personal finances, family(grandfather, father and minor children) andmaiden name.(Source: July 6, 2009, e-mail from Jack O’Dwyerto a candidate for PRSA’s Board of Directors.)(Source: July 9, 2009, e-mail from Jack O’Dwyerto the same candidate for PRSA’s Board ofDirectors.)I’m working on an editorial about you and(another candidate for the PRSA Board) aftergetting information on your presentations thatare on the website. You also say you wanted to“give back” to PR and you made a “personalcommitment” thatincluded being “committedto financially support the PR program at mylocal university.” This sounds like you gavemoney to (university). How much? they you(sic) say your agency gave funds to the (endow-ment fund). How much? Your many friends andacquaintances say your family has money andyou don’t have to worry. In your bio, you sayyour father was a famous journalist who tookpictures of ‘presidents and other hugely impor-tant people.’ Can we know his name? Is he stillalive? Why is this such a secret? Your fatherwas a photojournalist who traveled the worldwith his family. I would certainly like to knowmore. I continue to do research and find thatyour grandfather had a painting of the ances-tral mansion of your family in (country) indi-



cating you come from serious money. Yourgrandfather had or still has an art studio in(city) and your father was a famous photogra-pher, as you point out. You refuse to name him.Your ‘successful’ PR firm no longer exists.Apparently, you endowed (university) withserious funds. You refuse to discuss this or any-thing but your gift to (university) is mentionedin your presentation to the nomcom. You aremarried and have two children. What is yourmaiden name?

The biography of Rosanna Fiske, 2011chair, mentions her “famous” photogra-pher father. Her application for nomina-tion for chair mentioned she had donateda sum of money to the school. When Iasked Fiske in an e-mail the name of herfather and how much she donated, I gothit with charges of harassment— that Isought “information about her personalfinances, family (grandfather, father andminor children) and maiden name.” Theidentity of Fiske’s famous photographerfather is still unknown to us and we hopesomeone will supply it.Surreptitiously accessed or attemptedto access PRSA’s proprietary informa-tion systems and conference calls with-out our prior knowledge or consent.Monitoring tools used to track access toMemberNet, the private, members-only area ofPRSA’s Web site, determined that a computerwith an Internet Protocol (IP) address regis-tered to the J.R. O’Dwyer Company made 11unauthorized attempts to access MemberNetbetween March 4 and April 3, 2008.(Source: PRSA.)Records from PRSA’s teleconferencing vendorshow that telephone numbers registered to theJ.R. O’Dwyer Company connected to PRSAteleconference calls without permission orauthorization five times between May 22,2007, and May 12, 2009.c) In the article excerpted below, your “web-site” admits to listening in on a PRSALeadership Assembly Delegate call, which wasdone without PRSA’s prior knowledge or con-sent.(Source: Author unknown, “PRS Board HasNine New Directors,” Jan. 23, 2009,www.odwyerpr.com; excerpted below.)A [PRSA Leadership Assembly] delegate, atthe near end of the one-hour [PRSA confer-ence] call, then asked (PRSA immediate pastchair) whether he and the board want toremove governance responsibilities from theAssembly? odwyerpr.com did not get the rest ofthe quote because it was cut off. The websitethought that the PRS hour was over and thatmust have been the reason. However, (PRSAvice president, Public Relations) said in an e-mail Jan. 18 that odwyerpr.com was mistakenabout the reason for the cutoff. He said PRSdiscovered that an O’Dwyer phone numberwas listening into (sic) the call and that wasthe reason for the cutoff. “No member of theO’Dwyer organization was invited to partici-pate on the call” and it was an “unauthorizedlistener,” said (PRSA vice president, PublicRelations). [Mr. O’Dwyer] said he wantedsomeone to go to the meeting and tape it, eventhough he said that they were not allowed to

be taped.I admit trying but not succeeding to lis-

ten to conference calls. There was no needfor me to do so since members who hadevery right to listen to the calls gave meextensive descriptions of about a halfdozen of them. The calls should be avail-able to non-members as well as members. d) In the e-mail excerpted below, the presidentof a PRSSA Chapter at a university in Ohiostates that you attempted to engage her to tapea speech by PRSA’s president and CEO.(Source: May 7, 2009 e-mail from the presidentof a PRSSA Chapter in Ohio to PRSA’s vicepresident, Public Relations.)Harassed college students who are partof the Public Relations Student Societyof America (PRSSA).a) You asked two journalism professors at auniversity in Ohio to recommend a student toattend and cover a local speech by PRSA’spresident and CEO. Both professors referredthe opportunity to the president of the localPRSSA Chapter and, after speaking with youabout the opportunity, she characterized theconversation in an e-mail to PRSA, excerptedbelow.

The incident involved here is the attemptto get either professors or students fromthree local universities—Akron, Kent Stateand Youngstown State—to cover a talk that2009 chair Mike Cherenson was to give tothe Akron chapter of the Society. We onlylearned of this visit by chance. We wereoffering $200 for the assignment. PR and Jprofs at the three colleges said they couldnot cover and they were unable to get anyof their students to cover.b) You sent an e-mail, excerpted below, to thePresident of PRSSA [Brandi Boatner, then atHawaii Pacific University and now with IBMand 2014 secretary of the Society’s New Yorkchapter—ed. note] regarding her unwilling-ness to enter into a dialogue with you. Youthen sent an e-mail, also excerpted below, toofficials at the university where she is enrolled.(Source: Feb. 11, 2009, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the PRSSA student president.)(Source: Dec. 12, 2008, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the president and the PRSSA facul-ty adviser at a university in Hawaii, wherePRSSA’s national president was enrolled.)You’re mentioned and your picture and schoolare used in the attached story. I hope you willgive me a fair break and listen to my side ofthis story. I feel very unfairly treated by you.It’s not a credit to you, your school or PR. InAmerica, the accused have the right to facetheir accusers and the right to defend them-selves. You have denied me that right. Here’sthe link to the story. Free sample user/pass are(user name) & (password). It’s also totally un-American that the PR Society forbids any ofthe nearly 300 student chapter leaders fromviewing sales pitches for our five products.(PRSA chair and CEO) has said, “knowledgeis power...make yourself the most knowledge-able practitioner you can.” I don’t see howcensoring our products accomplishes that.I’m contacting you because leaders of thePRSSA chapters are forbidden to talk to me. I

have tried without success to contact the tennational leaders, including (PRSSA NationalPresident), but none of them have respondedexcept to say I must first contact h.q.Forbiding (sic) the students from knowingabout our five products, which are based on 40years of covering the PR industry, is anti-intel-lectual and does not belong in a university.Our materials are of the finest quality,archived on Lexis-Nexis in full text since 1989.The New York TImes (sic) calls us ‘the bible ofPR.’ The Society bars the O’Dwyer Co. fromadvertising any of its products in Tactics or onthe Society website and won’t let anyone fromour company join the Society.It’s sad that college students have to be victimsof this battle. The battle for information fromthe Society tells a lot about the current prac-tice of PR. Secrecy is at the root of the finan-cial scandals that are resulting in a possibleDepression. To view this story onodwyerpr.com, use (username) and (password)as the user/password.c) The Editor of PRSSA’s student publication,FORUM, explained to you via e-mail that shewas “familiar with you and your publications”and “not interested in asking for nor seeingyour materials”; that she had “no interest” inspeaking with you; and that she would preferyou “not contact [her] or officials of [her] uni-versity any further.” In response, you sent herthe e-mail, excerpted below. You subsequentlysent two additional mails, also excerptedbelow, to officials at the university in Utahwhere she was enrolled.(Source: Dec. 15, 2008, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the editor of PRSSA’s student publi-cation, FORUM.)You said in an e-mail to me Nov. 23 that youwere “informed that you [me] were asked toaddress any questions or concerns you have tothe PRSA/PRSSA headquarters in New York”and that you would “appreciate it if in thefuture you would go through PRSSA if youhave any requests.” Being a PR professional,you must understand the importance of goingthrough the right channels in an organization.I am wondering who told you to address myquestions or concerns to either PRSSA orPRSA and that you were not to deal with me atleast until that happened. You are a veryimportant national leader of PRSSA since youare editor-in-chief of The Forum (sic). As yourbio points out, you are an active member of theChurch of the Latter-day-Saints (sic).” (vicepresident, Public Relations), VP-BR of theSociety, contacted at about 3 p.m. today, Dec.15, said there is no such order from him andthat you are free to talk to me as far as he andthe Society are concerned. I have a call into(director of Education), director of educationof the Society, who is listed at the top of thesection on PRSSA, to see if she has given stu-dents such a policy. But as of 4:05 today shehas not returned the call. I also called (manag-er, Student Programs), coordinator of studentprograms shortly after (director of Education).I left a voice-mail message with (manager ofStudent Programs) and will copy them on thise-mail. Since the PR Society has severely criti-cized me in a full page in the SeptemberTactics (attached) I could see where students


OPINION




might not want to deal with me.The American Assn. of University Professors,with 43,000 members, says students must have“conflicting views on contentious subjects” orthey are being educationally “deprived.”Depriving or discouraging in any way PR stu-dent awareness of the stories and opinions onthe five O’Dwyer products would seem to fallunder what the AAUP is talking about. I amcontinuing efforts to clear my name with mem-bers of the Student Chapter of the PR Societyat (university) as well as faculty who are mem-bers of the PR Society. Attempts to gain equalspace in Tactics to rebut the full page of falsecharges against me in 22,000 copies of thepublication have gone nowhere. It would benice to have an article in The Forum (sic) ofthe Student Society of which (PRSSA member)is editor but [she] has now told me I am not tocontact her again and says I should not con-tact any school officials, either.I am unable to e-mail (university president)directly so I hope you will pass on this e-mailto him. I believe it’s a matter of academic free-dom that [he] should be involved in. Does [he]agree that I should cease attempts to clear myname with school officials and students? It’shard for me to understand institutions of high-er learning turning their backs on informationand opinions.(Source: Dec. 17, 2008, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to officials at the university in Utah,where the editor of PRSSA’s student publicationFORUM was enrolled.)(Source: Dec. 18, 2008, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to officials at the university in Utah,where the editor of PRSSA’s student publicationFORUM was enrolled.)You repeatedly attempted to contactseveral members of PRSSA’s NationalCommittee, apparently for the purposeof soliciting product sales, and spokecritically of PRSA.d) My attempts to reach out to the eight uni-versities represented by the ten members of thenational PR Student Society board have goneexactly nowhere. I am trying to show that Ihave not ‘repeatedly stepped far beyond thebounds of accurate and professional reporting’as charged in a full page attack on me in theSeptember ‘Ethics Month’ issue of Tactics[attached].Most of the ten student leaders don’t respondto phone calls or e-mails. This includes(PRSSA national president) of (university). Iwould expect her, at least, to answer me. Ithought the buck ‘stopped with the president.’This seems to be a remarkable record ofstonewalling and evasion although maybe I’mwrong. I would be glad to hear any evidencethat I am wrong.I don’t think (PRSSA Member) has seen thefour-page article I wrote on the Society’s saleof authors’ articles without their permission,amounting literally to hundreds of thousandsof copies of those articles, or many of the othermaterials on the Society that I could give her. Ineed to talk to her.I’m not getting a fair hearing from PR SocietyStudent chapters at the major universities inthe U.S. as represented by the ten student lead-ers.I’m surprised that institutions of higher learn-ing would accept anything less than the fullexamination of an issue as important as this.

The National Education Assn., represented by(PRSA board member), says education is the‘pursuit of truth.’ That is what I’m doing and Idon’t think there’s anything wrong in that.[PRSA Student Member 1] “I spoke with Mr.O’Dwyer at Conference in Detroit during thePRSA Assembly. He didn’t know who I wasand started talking to me telling me that PRSABoard members were from another planet.Once he read my badge he told me about thisdirectory. I then told him he should contact(PRSA director of Education) if he wantedPRSSA members to participate in this “cam-paign” and his response was “She doesn’t likeme.”[PRSA Student Member 2] “I also receivedseveral calls from Jack O’Dwyer. He kept call-ing me back to back while I was in class. Hecalled from (phone number one) at 10:29 amwhen I finally answered for the first time. Hesaid he wanted to talk to me but I told him Icouldn’t talk because I was on my way to mynext class. He then told me to call him back at(phone number two) when I got out of class,but I never had the opportunity to return hiscall. I continue with my day going to class,when I received another call from Mr.O’Dwyer at 3:10 pm from (phone numberone).He verified that I was on the NationalCommittee and my address. From his tone itsounding (sic) like he was reading from thePRSSA website because he kept repeating myinfo0rmation (sic) in the order it is listed onour site. I was skeptical of this man when hekept calling my phone back so I never offeredhim any information. He offered to send me afree book and before I could respond he switch(sic) tones with me and said how his companywas the best and PRSA would not let him puthis information on their site. ... I told him if hehad any questions, comments, or concernsabout PRSA or PRSSA he should direct themto headquarters. He hung up in my face.”(Source: Excerpts of an online discussion

among PRSSA student members in November2008, which took place on the organization’sGoogle Groups page.)

The Society should not discourage orblock students from dealing directly with areporter.Falsely characterized the professionalcredentials of PRSA staff members.a) PRSA’s CFO [Philip Bonaventura—addedby O’Dwyer] is a licensed CPA and is entitledto include the CPA designation in describinghis professional credentials. Investigations ofimproper use of the CPA designation are keptconfidential, up until the point at which theNew York State Education Department takesdisciplinary action.In the articles excerpted below, your newsletterasserts that PRSA’s CFO is not a registeredCPA and is not entitled to use that designation.You also imply that the Office of ProfessionalDiscipline of the New York State is investigat-ing the matter.(Source: Author unknown, “NYS DisciplineOffice Probes PRSA CFO,” June 22, 2007,www.odwyerpr.com.)“The Office of Professional Discipline of theNew York State Education Department isexamining evidence that (PRSA CFO), namedCFO of PRSA on June, 19, may have improp-erly used the term CPA in connection with his

announcement. He is not currently a registeredCPA and only those who have registered, paidthe $245 fee, and taken at least 24 hours offormal education each year, can use that termin public. The NYSSCPA is sending him a lettertelling him to “cease and desist” claims ofmembership. (PRSA CFO) has suffered embar-rassment and will probably be subject to a rep-rimand by New York State because of PRSA’sflawed press release on him. False claims weremade that he is a “Certified PublicAccountant” when he is forbidden to use thattitle in public because he has dropped his reg-istration. He did not have current membershipsin the national and New York CPA societies asclaimed. At the time of the release, he had lethis membership lapse in the New York Societyof Assn. Executives for a year and a half.We’re disappointed in (PRSA CFO)’s appoint-ment because we wanted a bona fide, regis-tered CPA at PRSA in hopes that a CPA wouldrid PRSA of its substandard financial reportingpractices.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “(PRSA CFO) FacesPossible Reprimand,” June 25, 2007,www.odwyerpr.com.)(Source: June 25, 2007, e-mail from New YorkState Education Department to PRSA presidentand COO.)(Source: June 25, 2007, e-mail from New YorkState Education Department to PRSA presidentand COO.)

We pointed out that Bonaventura hadnot followed, for an unknown period oftime, the requirements for being a“Registered” CPA by taking the propercourses and paying the required fees. Hisstatus as provided by the New York StateEducation Dept. was that it was “inac-tive.” Bonaventura later registered. Healso brought his membership up to datein the New York Society of Assn.Executives.Used abhorrent imagery to describePRSA and its operations.a) In the interview excerpted below, you com-pare your company’s attempts to gain remu-neration from PRSA to Holocaust victims’efforts to gain reparations from the Nazis.O’Dwyer: “I am mad at [PRSA] ... I am nevergoing to forgive them any more than the vic-tims of the Nazis in World War II gave up onreparations. It took them 50 years to get them,but I’m never gonna let [PRSA] off the hookon that.”(Source: 39:25 of “FIR Interview: JackO’Dwyer,” Jan. 21, 2009.)

The families of the victims of the Naziconcentration camps, who had depositsin Swiss banks, were rebuffed by theSwiss until the 1990s but never gave up.They eventually won billions of dollarsin settlements. There’s nothing improperin saying that we will continue our fightfor justice for the many authors whowere ripped off by the Society and citingthe long fight of the families of the Nazivictims as an example of determination.b) In the article excerpted below, you compareyour company’s attempts to gain “justice”




from PRSA’s Board of Directors to an AfricanAmerican trying to gain justice from a racistmob.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “HSMAI Gave Out 685Awards Jan. 26,” Feb. 2, 2009,www.odwyerpr.com.)

That blog noted that the Society hadannounced a boycott against the O’DwyerCo. via a full page in the September 2008Tactics and had refused to print our rebut-tal to its charges. We also noted theSociety’s continued refusal to address theissue of selling copies of authors’ articlesfrom 1978-94 without their permission.c) In the article excerpted below, you liken to“inbreeding” the stipulation that PRSA boardmembers must possess the Accredited in PublicRelations (APR) credential(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “PRS MishandlesAll‐White Board Issue,” Feb. 9, 2009,www.odwyerpr.com.)d) In the article excerpted below, you compare PRSAleaders to repressive religious mullahs and murderousdictators.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Economist Copied byTime, Newsweek,” June 21, 2009, www.odwyer-pr.com.)We figure [members of the J.R. O’DwyerCompany] have about as much chance of get-ting justice from the all-PR out-of-town [PRSA]board ... as a black lynch victim would get froma mob in the Old South.The “gene pool” of the [PRSA] board hasshrunk to near zero in 35 years of APR inbreed-ing and needs refreshening (sic). TheHapsburgs, chronic inbreeders (sic), developedimpotence, retardation and the ‘Hapsburg lip,’a hideous deformity that blocked chewing. ThePRS board has developed intellectual and char-acter deformities over the years. Its membershave lost the ability to know right from wrong.Fundamentalist APRs, not unlike the mullahswho have lots of sway in the MidEast, haveruled the Society since the 1970s. They remindus of the regimes of Fidel Castro, in power inCuba since the 1950s, and Robert Mugabe,who has ruled Zimbabwe since the 1960s. Bothleaders, to remain in power, have done greateconomic damage to their countries. There’s nodoubt about the doctrinaire, rigid, anti-modern,anti-media, and anti-communications beliefs ofthe APR mullahs. PRS leaders have no insightinto how similar their actions and policies areto dictatorships which regularly frustrate,imprison and murder journalists.

Those charges are answered above inthe section on few blacks serving on theboard of the Society.e) In the articles excerpted below, you refer toPRSA’s Chapter, Section and District leaders as“cronies” and infer that the PRSA LeadershipRally is an attempt to “buy” their loyalty.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “’Cronies’ DiscussPRSA Dues Hike Twice Today,” Wednesday, July27, 2011, www.odwyerpr.com.)(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Only a Brief Period toMake Mark for (PRSA president and CEO),”Feb. 2, 2006, www.odwyerpr.com.)f) In the article excerpted below, you character-ize PRSA as a “dictatorship” and infer thatPRSA has bribed members as a way of stiflingdissenting opinions.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Cronies Keep

Dictatorships in Power (e.g., PRSA),” June 13,2011, available at www.odwyerpr.com.)g) In the article excerpted below, you character-ize the Accredited in Public Relations (APR)credentialing process as being akin to murderscommitted by organized crime.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Worried PRSA LeadersSummon Calvary,” August 22, 2011, available atwww.odwyerpr.com.)Many of the delegates are fresh from the Juneweekend in New York where each got at least$750 in meals and cash from national for the“Leadership Rally” that is really a “LoyaltyRally.”What’s involved is a conspiracy against therank-and-file members. No. 11 is the blatantbribery of 110 chapter presidents-elect with a‘weekend in June in NewYork’ so they can learn how to be presidents(they’re given with [sic] $500 each in walkingaround money).Dictatorships are able to remain in powerbecause they surround themselves with a cadreof “cronies” who are paid off one way oranother and block the “people” from organiz-ing, said an op-ed piece in the June 10 NewYork Times by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita andAlastair Smith. The “Leadership Rally,” a function begun in1999 that initially hosted the more than 100chapter presidents but which was expanded toinclude section and district chairs, costs theSociety between $80,000 and $115,000, accord-ing to a statement by CFO John Colletti. The“Rally” should really be the Spring Assembly,which was discontinued in 1988 because of itsallegedly high cost! Attendees, as of 2013, werereceiving $550 in cash to offset their expenses.The attendees also get five free meals includinga dinner at a Class A restaurant on Fridaynight. The 2014 “Leadership Rally” is set forJune 13-14 at the New York Marriott down fol-lowing the awarding of Silver Anvils the previ-ous night.Used anonymous sources to create anappearance of widespread dissentionand controversy within PRSA.a) PRSA received no complaints about the workof its 2008 Nominating Committee. Despitehaving been told this in the e-mail exchangeexcerpted below, you or another writer for yourorganization published an article to the con-trary, also excerpted below.(Source: Oct. 17, 2008, e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to PRSA’s vice president, public rela-tions.)(Source: Oct. 17, 2008, e-mail to Jack O’Dwyerfrom PRSA vice president, public relations.)(Source: Author unknown, “Complaints SurfaceAbout 2008 PRS NomCom,” Oct. 20, 2008,www.odwyerpr.com.)b) In the e-mail excerpted below, a PRSA pastpresident alleges that you fabricated a quoteand attributed it to her. To our knowledge, aretraction was never published.After reading your editorial, I felt compelled tolet you know that you ... incorrectly quoted ...me. To set the record straight, I never said any-thing derogatory about (PRSA president-elect)or her leadership role in PRSA. ... The abilitiesof the leaders (EC, Board and etc.) was nevercalled into question at any time.Why on earth did you make up that quote? Or,did someone make it up for you? I never men-tioned (PRSA president-elect’s) name, but you

know that. If you were on the call or whoevertaped it for you must have known that (PRSApresident-elect) led the call. Considering yougot all of the other information I said correct,almost verbatim, I can’t understand why youhad to make up a quote from me that was falseto make your point.Jack, we can agree to disagree, but don’t printlies and attach my name to them. It is not nec-essary and it’s disrespectful. ... After all of theseyears, I am offended that you would insult meand my name because you don’t agree with aproposal to by-law Get real!!! I expect a retrac-tion, or at least a personal apology to me andto (incoming PRSA president). Please make ithappen.

The Society’s nominating process is sounfair and undemocratic that 1987 presi-dent Jack Felton headed a committee in2000 that investigated charges of impro-priety and demanded that directors stoptrying to influence who got on the board.The nominating committee, and not theboard, is supposed to pick the directors,said the Felton committee. But even thatargument had flaws because usually morethan 15 of the 20 nomcom members areAPR when only 18% of the members areand therefore only two or three of thenomcom members should be APR. Nowonder that the only members nominatedare those that favor keeping nationalboard posts as the exclusive preserve ofthe APRs. In 2004, the Board of Ethicsand Professional Standards twice pleadedwith the national board to investigatealleged wrongdoing by the nomcom andtwice it was turned down. The two toppeople on BEPS, Chuck Wood and VivianHamilton, quit BEPS.(Source: Excerpts of Nov. 2, 2006, e-mail fromPRSA past president to Jack O’Dwyer.)c) In the article excerpted below, you claim —based on anonymous sources — that PRSA wasplanning to bar media coverage of itsLeadership Assembly, when press credentialsfor you and a second attendee were grantedupon receipt of your request.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Board Drops Ball onBylaw Reform,” Oct. 8, 2008,www.odwyerpr.com.)Mischaracterized PRSA’s relationshipwith the media generally, and the J.R.O’Dwyer organization specifically.a) PRSA regularly engages with traditionaland social media of all types, and frequentlyposts the results of these interactions in ouronline Newsroom. As a matter of course, theJ.R. O’Dwyer organization receives copies ofall PRSA press releases and may access thePRSA online Newsroom at any time. In thearticles excerpted below, you characterizePRSA’s media policy as a media “boycott,”and accuse PRSA of “blackballing” or“blacklisting” your organization.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “PR Opinion/Items,”Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter, Internet edition,July 16, 2008, www.odwyerpr.com.)(Source: Author unknown, “’Blue Ribbon’ Panel

OPINION




on Certification,” Aug. 3, 2007,www.odwyerpr.com.)(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “Blacklisting PRSACondemns Blacklisting,” June 21, 2011,www.odwyerpr.com.)

We don’t know how the nine educa-tors who are seeking national office atPRS can associate their institutions oflearning with the formal press boycottthat has been passed by the PRS board.We doubt their school officials wouldallow this. PRS has a formal boycottagainst the press in which board mem-bers, officers and staff are forbidden toanswer questions from the press. CEO(PRSA chair and CEO) is the onlyauthorized spokesperson for the Society.

PR Society of America, which hasblacklisted this reporter for years,including an hour-long delivery of thatpolicy by chair Gary McCormick andCOO Bill Murray on March 19, 2010 inmy own office, has condemned black-listing of reporters as “unethical.”For years Jack O’Dwyer has, in PRSA’s view,subjected PRSA’s leadership and volunteers toinnuendo and personal attacks in his print andInternet publications. But it’s not just his writ-ings. He has also pursued these attacks onPRSA volunteers through calls to employers,associates and the hometown media of volun-teer leaders who agreed to serve PRSA on thenational, regional and local levels, callinginto question their ethics or professional stan-dards in choosing to associate with PRSA. ...calling associates, supervisors, local mediaand others to criticize PRSA is all too com-mon, and has occurred repeatedly. (Source: Excerpt from PRSA media policy,available at http://media.prsa.org/prsamediapol-icy.)Approached PRSA leaders to advocateyour personal opinions and beliefstoward PRSA.a) In the article and e-mail excerpted below,you state that you have e-mailed an individualmember and the presidents of nearly everylocal PRSA Chapters to express your opinionson the proposed 2012 PRSA dues increase.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “30 Ex‐PRSA ChairsCould Vote in Assembly,” Aug. 19, 2011, avail-able at www.odwyerpr.com)b) In the eGroup comment excerpted below, aPRSA Chapter President describes her reac-tion to receiving your e-mails.(Source: Comment posted to a PRSA eGroupdiscussion board by a PRSA Chapter Presidenton Aug. 4, 2011.)c) In the e-mail excerpted below, you suggestthat PRSA’s Chapter Presidents should organ-ize in opposition to PRSA “national” and itsBoard of Directors.(Source: Aug. 3, 2011 e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the president of a PRSA Chapter.)Approached other journalists to advo-cate negative coverage of PRSA.a) You encouraged Brian Tierney and TonyGnoffo of the Philadelphia Inquirer to writenegative stories about PRSA, to coincide withthe PRSA International Conference, whichwas being held in Philadelphia.We sent Tierney materials for weeks with theangle that PRS, rife with undemocratic and

press-dodging policies, was meeting on its60th anniversary in the city where America’sdemocracy was created. Tierney brushed usoff, saying he was busy with other things.(Source: O’Dwyer, Jack, “PR Should Supply‘Hard’ Answers,” Oct. 29, 2007,www.odwyerpr.com.)b) You or another writer for your organizationencouraged Akron Beacon-Journal ReporterBetty Lin-Biisher to ask your questions duringan interview she had scheduled with PRSA’sChair and CEO.(Source: Author unknown, “(PRSA chair andCEO) Addresses PRS/Akron,” May 12, 2009,www.odwyerpr.com.)c) You sent an e-mail … to three reporters atthe Minneapolis Star Tribune, in advance ofPRSA’s President and COO speaking to thePRSA Minnesota Chapter.(Source: June 15, 2011 e-mail from JackO’Dwyer to the executive committee of theMinnesota PRSA Chapter and threeMinneapolis Star Tribune reporters.)

There is nothing wrong with trying tohire local reporters to cover visits bySociety leaders to the chapters.Disregarded established PRSA mediapolicies.a) In the e-mails excerpted below, you werenotified in advance of the media policies ineffect for PRSA’s 2010 Leadership Assembly,and notified afterward that you had violatedseveral of the stated policies.(Source: Oct. 1, 2010, e-mail from PRSA’s vicepresident of public relations to Jack O’Dwyer.)We look forward to having you attend thePRSA National Assembly on Oct. 16, inWashington, D.C. Because this is a workingmeeting of elected PRSA representatives,please note that the following press policieswill be in effect for that day:(1) Only credentialed media will be permittedin the International Ballroom, where theNational Assembly will take place.(2) Audio recording of the assembly is not per-mitted.(3) Photography of the assembly is not permit-ted; however, PRSA will have a photographeron site, and we will be happy to supply youwith Assembly photos, upon request.(4) There will be a designated seating area forthe press; we ask that you please remain with-in the designated media area while the meet-ing is taking place.(5) Interviews with assembly delegates are notpermitted between the meeting hours of8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.(6) When interviewing assembly delegates,please keep in mind that they are choosing tospeak on their own behalf; their commentsmay or may not represent official PRSA poli-cies or positions.(7) A lunch break is scheduled from 12 – 1:30p.m.; your press credentials do not provide foradmittance to the luncheon. Please respectthese policies. Any member of the media whobreeches these policies will be denied accessto future PRSA National Assemblies.You were dozing right in the middle of theafternoon session, which is extremely embar-rassing to me personally: to have a reporter,to whom I granted press credentials, sleepingin front of 40 members and 17 Board mem-bers, all of whom I serve.

I closed my eyes for a few moments in

the afternoon. But I was wide awake allmorning when the Assembly turneddown the bid of the Committee for aDemocratic PRSA for the right of non-APRs to run for office.... I’d like to bring a few other behavioralitems to your attention: A tape recorder wentoff in your bag — even though I told youweeks in advance that recording the Assemblyproceedings was not permitted — causing atleast three delegates to get up from their seatsto ask you to shut it off.

Tape recording of the Assembly byreporters was permitted until 2010.What’s wrong with that? Also, I wasn’trecording anything; by accident I hit the“play” button which is why people heardit.You starting taking pictures when you arrived— even though I told you weeks in advance thatyou weren’t permitted to take pictures — untilone of the members of my staff asked you tostop.

There was never any bar to taking pic-tures during the Assembly until 2010.Yann said I couldn’t even take a pictureof the room before the Assembly started.You tried to sneak into the luncheon — eventhough I told you weeks in advance that youweren’t allowed to attend the luncheon — andthen you verbally assaulted (a PRSA past-president) and other delegates about the poli-cy.

I pleaded with board member LynnAppelbaum and past chair Judith Phairto let me into the lunch, which I hadattended for about 40 years. They bothpleaded lack of authority, a raw displayof staff domination.Following the Assembly, you got into a verbal(and by some accounts, physical) altercationwith an Assembly Delegate, which wasobserved by a Board member and other con-ference attendees.

As I waited outside the hotel, a largemale with a blonde crew-cut charged atme and yelled obscenities within an inchof my face. Yann described this assaultas an “altercation.” I reported it to theD.C. Police who said that since I wasn’ttouched I couldn’t press charges. (Source: Oct. 22, 2010, e-mail from PRSA’svice president of public relations to JackO’Dwyer.)Mr. O’Dwyer, we trust this fully satisfies yourrequest for the reasons why PRSA has not,and will not, provide the J.R. O’DwyerCompany with more liberal access to ournews, events, staff and volunteers.These reasons also are why we are denyingyour request (and that of any other J.R.O’Dwyer Company employee or assign) formedia credentials to attend PRSA’sLeadership Assembly and InternationalConference for 2011.

Sincerely,

Rosanna M. Fiske, APRWilliam M. Murray, CAE Chair and CEO



WASHINGTON REPORT

Bob Gray, whose clients included Haitian dictator “BabyDoc” Duvalier, the Church of Scientology, Teamsters andKennedy Center for Performing Arts, died April 18 from

heart troubles at a Miami hospital.Headquartered in a former electrical station in Georgetown

called the “Power House,” Gray & Co. ranked amongWashington’s mostelite lobbying groups,with Gray a fixture onthe D.C. social cir-cuit.

Gray, a former aide to PresidentEisenhower joinedHill & Knowlton in1961, taking over itsD.C. office. The NewYork Times reportedthat Gray’s operationonce generated $16million in revenues, accounting for 25% of H&K business.

Gray worked for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential cam-paign and co-chaired his inaugural committee. With Reagan’spresidency, Gray left H&K to establish G&C.

In 1986 H&K acquired G&C for $21 million and Gray tookon the chairman slot until stepping down in 1992.

Susan Trento wrote the highly critical blockbuster book, ThePower House: Robert Keith Gray and the Selling of Access andInfluence in Washington.

Gray unsuccessfully sued Trento for defamation. £

Legendary lobbyist Bob Graydies at 92

Gray with President George H. W. Bush

The UK’s Labour Party has given political operative DavidAxelrod a six-figure contract to help its leader EdMilliband become prime minister in 2015.

Axelrod, who guided Obama’s 2004 race for Senator and bothPresidential elections, takes the senior strategic advisor post.

A Labour spokesperson said Milliband reached out to the for-mer Chicago Tribune politicaleditor because he expects a nega-tive campaign in his effort tounseat David Cameron.

Axelrod is expected to adapt forLabour’s campagn the economic inequality theme that isstressed by Team Obama.

He’s already has “long conver-sations” with Milliband about

“healthy economies in which opportunity is broadly available,and people can stay ahead of the cost of living,” according to areport in the Guardian.

Axelrod will travel to London May 14 for two days of strategymeetings with Milliband and his shadow cabinet to plot a cam-paign geared at “everyday people.”

Labour unleashes Obama’sattack dog

Axelrod

Obama for America campaign veterans and AKPD Messageand Media partners Larry Grisolano and Mike Donilon will joinAxelrod. AKPD is the former Axelrod and Assocs.

Labour currently holds a lead over the Conservatives, whichgovern in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

That edge will narrow as the May election nears and theisland’s economy strengthens.

Jim Messina, another Obama campaign veteran, signed up lastyear to advise Cameron and the Conservatives. £

Capital One Financial has added Glover Park Group to itsWashington lobbying team for matters such as banking,credit card, retirement savings regulation and tax policy.

The McClean, Va.-based financial company shelled out $2M inD.C. advocacy during the past year.

Joel Johnson, chief of staff for Ohio’s former Senator HowardMetzenbaum and President Clinton’s senior advisor for policyand communications, spearheads GPG’s Capital One group

John Hughes, ex-senior policy advisor for Democratic WhipSteny Hoyer, and Jon Gans former policy counsel for ArizonaSenator Jon Kyl, join Johnson.

Capital One has reported a 9.3 percent rise in first-quarter prof-it to $1.1 billion on a three percent revenue dip to $5.3 billion. £

Glover Park puts Capital Onein its PR wallet

Publicis Groupe Chief Maurice Levy called for a ban of thepolitical use on data because interactivity is the “holy grail”of the advertising/PR world.

At an April Cannes conference, he criticized any ownership ofinformation, saying everyone deserves to own his/her own data.Levy decried any moves by a government, Google, Facebook, orTwitter to control information.

Levy said he’s okay with those entities being “custodians” ofinformation, as long as they are willing to share content with oth-ers. To Levy, sharing involves members of the Publicis family offirms eager to capitalize on personal data to market goods andservices of clients.

Levy is aligned with his archrival & WPP Chief Martin Sorrellin highlighting the potential threat of Google to the communica-tion world. At a March 31 conference in London, Sorrell rappedGoogle for a lack of transparency, accusing the search giant ofstiffing media companies. He said Google wants to cut out themiddle man and deal directly with clients to place advertising. £

Levy wants Fed hands off data



International PR News

G NEW LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT FILINGSBelow is a list of select companies that have registered with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records, and the Clerkof the House of Representatives, Legislative Resource Center, Washington, D.C., in order to comply with the Lobbying DisclosureAct of 1995. For a complete list of filings, visit www.senate.gov.

Lobbying News

¸ NEW FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT FILINGSFARA News

Below is a list of select companies that have registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, FARA Registration Unit, Washington,D.C., in order to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, regarding their consulting and communications work onbehalf of foreign principals, including governments, political parties, organizations, and individuals. For a complete list of filings,visit www.fara.gov.

Sorini, Samet & Associates, LLC, New York, NY, registered April 18, 2014 for Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Phillipines (CON-GEP), Makati City, The Philippines, for assistance with legislation drafting, coordination with Congressional offices, Congressional advocacy, andprivate-sector commercial efforts.

Policy Agency, LLC, Stratham, NH, registered April 9, 2014 for Consulate General of Japan in Boston, Boston, MA, for consulting with officialsof the U.S. government at the federal and state level including State Representatives and Senators, campaign officials and public opinion leaders onissues and political developments in NH.

Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Washington, D.C., registered April 14, 2014 for Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq, regarding assistance with shap-ing of U.S. perceptions of Kurdish interests.

Capitol Counsel LLC, Washington, D.C., registered April 24, 2014 for Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Las Vegas, NV, for monitoring federalpolicy issues related to internet gambling, HR 4301 & S. 2159, Restoration of America's Wire Act.

Horizon Government Affairs, Washington D.C., registered April 24, 2014 for Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., Novato, CA, regarding pharmaceuticalmanufacturing issues.

Washington Premier Consulting LLC, Washington, DC, registered April 24, 2014 for SNCF America Inc., Palo Alto, CA, for monitoring legislative efforts relating to HR 1505 & S. 1393, Holocaust Rail Justice Act.

Van Scoyoc Associates, Washington, D.C., registered April 24, 2014 for Capital Concerts, Inc., Washington, D.C., regarding concert relatedissues and initiatives.

APCO Worldwide has inked a two-month, $50,000 agree-ment to bolster the image of Azerbaijan, the pro-westernformer Soviet republic 90% Muslim state borders Russia

and Iran.The country’s strategic importance as an energy supplier to the

European Union is now front and center due to Moscow’s adven-ture in Ukraine and U.S./EU threats to sanction Russia’s energysector in retaliation.

Russia supplies a third of gas and a quarter of oil consumptionof the EU member states.

Oklahoma Republican Congressman Jim Bridenstine hostedAzerbaijan ambassador Elin Suleymanov at an energy forum inTulsa April 14. The program discussed plans to expand a pipelinethat currently transports Azerbaijan gas to Turkey to Italy in fiveyears.

Bridenstine says increased EU energy exports from the US andcountries such as Azerbaijan are ways to end Europe’s reliance onRussian energy and to stop “feathering the nests of Putin and hiskleptocrat Kremlin cronies.”

Houston-based Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan fundsAPCO’s contract.

Ex-Congressman speaks for AzerbaijanFormer Massachusetts Congressman Bill Delahunt has a

$180,000 six-month contract to promote positive relationsbetween Azerbaijan and the U.S.

His Delahunt Group, which is based in Quincy, joins APCO

APCO, congressman speak forAzerbaijan

Worldwide. Delahunt’s work is through West CoastCommunications in Los Angeles. The liberal Democrat chaired theHouse Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on InternationalOrganizations, Human Rights and Oversight.

The Council of Europe human rights watchdog on April 23expressed concern over a pattern of abuse in Azerbaijan, which isheaded by Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003.

CoE charged Aliyev’s regime with muzzling criticism and jail-ing dissidents. It said the rights situation in Azerbaijan has deterio-rated since CoE last report in August. £

FTI Consulting represents the business and political interests ofHong Kong Trade Development Council via a one-year con-tract valued in the $450,000 range.

“Lobbying targets” include members of Congress and theObama Administration who have a bearing on US/China traderelations in policy areas including environmental protection, laborand human rights, taxes, anti-dumping, public health, cap andtrade regimes and food safety, according to the contract.

Former Alabama Congressman Bud Cramer works the business.He’s one-time Chairman of Wexler & Walker Public PolicyAssocs. and Co-Founder of the Blue Dog Coalition of conserva-tive Democrats.

In the event Cramer cuts ties with the firm, FTI must notify theChinese for a review of the business, which could result in termi-nation of the contract. £

FTI consulting touts HongKong development



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