2013 Americas PR Agency Report Card

Two simple words
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shatter expectations.
Two simple words
set Ketchum apart.

break through

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Agency Report Card 2013

the

HOLMES
REPORT

PR AGENCY

REPORT CARD

Paul A. Holmes
CEO
Arun Sudhaman
Partner and Managing Editor
Greg Drury
Partner and President - U.S. Operations
Aarti Shah
Senior Editor
Annabel Davis
Chief Internet Officer
Amanda Busby
UK Administrative Manager
Patrick Drury
Account Executive
Celeste Picco
Chief Administrative Officer
James Beer/Logo Logo
Design
Anthony S. Picco
Layout & Print Production
The Holmes Report, PR Agency Report Card 2013
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MESSAGE
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are. In the new, turbulent world of health care, we’re religious
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CONTENTS

“The first signs of an
economic recovery meant
that revenue increases in the
US public relations business
continued to outpace
Europe—where the major
markets are still suffering
from government austerity
and corporate caution—and
demonstrate that there is still plenty of room for
growth in a business that continues to expand the
breadth and depth of its service offering to meet the
challenges of a new communications era.
In terms of breadth, it is clear that many public
relations firms continue to expand into digital
and social media. PR firms have demonstrated
the ability to compete with other marketing and
communications services firms in the content
creation and curation arena, offering a wide range of
channel-neutral solutions across paid, owned and
shared media as well as the earned space in which
PR agencies have traditionally dominated. And more
and more firms are expanding their capabilities in
data and analytics, using third-party services and
their own custom tools to offer better research,
planning and metrics.

In terms of depth, the best firms in the consumer
space have moved far beyond product publicity
to offer genuine insight into customer wants and
needs, and to deliver brand-building campaigns
that a few years ago were the province of either ad
agencies or specialist brand consultancies. In the
corporate arena, meanwhile, the high-end strategic
consulting firms have demonstrated that they are
more than capable of competing with management
consultancies and law firms in areas such as
change management and public affairs, and of
holding down a seat at the same table as financial
and legal advisors.
As a result, industry growth last year was close
to 10 percent, with independent firms leading the
way—many of those featured in this review grew by
double-digits or better, and are on track for similarly
impressive performance in 2014.
There is no doubt that the communications
landscape is more challenging than ever. But
equally, there is no doubt that the best and the
brightest PR firms are rising to that challenge.”

Paul A. Holmes
Paul Holmes, Editor

EDITORIAL.............................................................................................................................................................. 04
TEN WAYS TO DESIGN THE AGENCY OF THE FUTURE..................................................... 06
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)...................................................................................... 12
AGENCIES OF THE YEAR........................................................................................................................... 14
ALPHABETICAL INDEX................................................................................................................................. 20
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX.............................................................................................................................. 24
SPECIALTY INDEX............................................................................................................................................ 26
MULTINATIONAL, FULL-SERVICE FIRMS......................................................................................... 28
SPECIALISTS, BOUTIQUES, SMALL & MID-SIZE FIRMS....................................................... 68


what engages you?
We are in the business to be “engaging, always.” So the
people who work here are a highly engaged group. There are
photographers, bass guitar players, PhDs, lawyers, stand-up
comics, synchronized swimmers (yes, we have one). And every
day they bring their unique perspective and skills to engaging
people with the brands and issues that matter to them.
To learn more, go to webershandwick.com.


1
0

WAYS TO

DESIGN
THE

AGENCY

OF THE

FUTURE
by Paul Holmes

THE FINANCIAL, POLITICAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND
media worlds have changed dramatically since the
start of the 21st century. The global economic crisis,
stagnation in the developed economies and growth
in emerging markets, the rise of digital and social
communications channels and the fragmentation of
mainstream news outlets—these changes have all
prompted new threats, and opened up new opportunities, for the public relations business.
But to take advantage of these changes, public
relations firms need new business models, new—and
more diverse—talent, and new ways of thinking. To put
it mildly, a public relations agency designed to meet
the major challenges of the 20th century is unlikely to
succeed in the 21st.
Yet many of the world’s largest agencies, and
a surprising number of midsize firms, continue to
operate as if little has changed. Their infrastructure
is a legacy from a different age, they have the same
practice areas (often conflating actual practices
such as corporate communications and product
marketing, with industry sectors such as healthcare
and technology), the same geographic structures, the
same silos that served them (not always well) a decade
or more ago.
And many of them have failed to integrate new
ideas, new technologies and new media, into the way
they do business—often treating changes that ought
to disrupt existing models as if they can simply be
bolted on to the old model.
Every time they do that, they miss an opportunity
to create something genuinely disruptive, and they
double down on their investment in traditional,
vestigial, thinking—increasing their vulnerability to new
firms with new ways of thinking.
Many of the firms in this volume are already acting
on some, perhaps many, of the ideas presented here.
Some have radically restructured their business using
their own ideas of what the future will demand. It’s
doubtful whether anyone has all the answers when it
comes to creating a new model for the public relations
firm, but there are several ideas that all agencies
should be exploring or considering.

1. Big data at the center
Three years ago, I found myself in Davos—at a
conference called Communication on Top—debating
the future role of public relations in a shifting world.


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PRODUCT RECALL

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PRESS CONFERENCE

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MERGER

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INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTER

INVESTOR MEETING

PROXY CONTEST

ACQ U I S I T I O N

VALUE

LABOR DISPUTE

CFIUS
CLEARANCE

STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES POISON

TAKE CONTROL
IPO

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13D SEC INQUIRY
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STRIKE

MEDIA INTERVIEW
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SHORT ATTACK

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CHAPTER 11 UNCONFIRMED RUMOR

WHITE KNIGHT

HOSTILE TAKEOVER

BOYCOTT

WELLS NOTICE

ANTITRUST REVIEW

BANKRUPTCY

COVENANT BREACH

SOCIAL MEDIA

MANAGEMENT CHANGE

LAYOFF

PILL

RELEASE

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CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

LITIGATION SUPPORT

INVESTOR RELATIONS

RESTRUCTURING & BANKRUPTCY

TRANSACTION COMMUNICATIONS

PRIVATE EQUITY

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
& SPECIAL SITUATIONS
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
& CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

My own optimistic view was challenged by
Marshall Sponder, an expert in web analytics.
His major complaint: that PR people did
not understand how to use big data; his
big prediction: that within a couple of years,
every PR agency that wanted to be taken
seriously would have a chief data officer,
playing a significant role in the leadership of
the organization.
To say that progress on this score has been
mixed would be extremely generous to the
industry as a whole. There has been plenty of
evidence that putting data and analytics at the
center of communications can be incredibly
powerful—the Obama re-election campaign
is the most obvious example—but there has
been incremental progress at best when it
comes to using data to drive marketing and
corporate communications more broadly, and
only a handful of firms have anyone in a role
roughly equivalent to Sponder’s chief data
officer role.

2. Insight to drive
meaningful creativity
One reason data is important is that it lays
the foundation for the kind of insight—into
stakeholder attitudes, values, beliefs and
actions—that ensure relevance.
For too long, many public relations
people—like the baseball scouts in Michael
Lewis’s Moneyball who believed that they
could identify a good baseball player based
on little more than attitude, posture, and
physique—have operated on the assumption
that their years of experience alone meant
that they knew a good PR campaign when
they saw it.
But all too often, the ideas they generated
were creative just for the sake of it. They
resonated with reporters, but not with the
wider audiences they were intended to reach.
They provided entertainment value but didn’t
do anything to influence behaviour. They were
“great” PR ideas with no business benefit.
Great data alone will not ensure great PR
programming. But better data will lead to
better insights. And better insights will lead to
more creative public relations ideas—ideas
that solve real business problems.

3. Understanding the
human brain
Edward L Bernays would insist loudly to
anyone who would listen that public relations
was “applied social science.” That was true in
the industry’s early days, when Bernays and

others were pioneering a new discipline, and it
remains true today.
What has changed is that we have new
ways of understanding how the human mind
words, how people decide what to believe,
how they process information, how they make
choices.

the second. There is probably still a very
good living to be earned that way—effective
communication remains important; but firms
that can help their clients earn the right kind of
reputation—by helping to shape policy rather
than explain it—will deliver and derive far
greater value in the future.

A PR PERSON WHO LOOKS AT A CLIENT
FROM A TRUE JOURNALISTIC PERSPECTIVE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO UNEARTH BOTH
POSITIVE NEWS (AUTHENTIC STORIES
THAT REINFORCE THE MESSAGES
A COMPANY WANTS TO COMMUNICATE
ABOUT ITSELF) AND NOT-SO-POSITIVE
NEWS (HELPING CLIENTS IDENTIFY
AREAS OF REPUTATION RISK).

Most PR people could benefit from going
back and reading Bernays’ classic The
Engineering of Consent. But they should also
be reading more recent volumes such as The
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, Nudge by
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Made to
Stick by Chip Heath, or Contagious by Jonah
Burger. Or listening to neuroscientists like
David Eagleman, who presented at our first
Global Public Relations Summit in 2012 and
provided numerous insights—some of them
quite shocking—into the ways emotional
responses can overrule the rational mind, and
the unconscious supersede the conscious.
Understanding the latest thinking in this
area is essential for anyone hoping to change
attitudes and behaviors.

4. Managing reputation
is about more than just
communicating reputation
There are two necessary preconditions if
a company is to have a good reputation (by
which we mean a reputation that strengthens
the relationship between a company and its
key stakeholders, reducing risk and providing
greater opportunity). First, it must earn that
reputation; then it must communicate what it
has done to earn it.
The first of those things is by far the most
important; traditionally, public relations firms
have spent far more time and energy on

This requires an understanding of corporate
culture, and corporate values, and how
to communicate them so that executives
communicate them through their words
and—infinitely more important—their deeds;
employees believe in them and live them; and
external stakeholders understand them and
believe that they are authentic.

5. Becoming real brand
journalists
The public relations industry has always
recruited former journalists. But historically,
it has demanded that they stop acting
like journalists. Their perceived value was
their ability to craft stories that their former
colleagues would find interesting or appealing.
But that approach ignored their true value.
Real brand journalism is not just about
telling good stories, it’s about identifying and
researching and developing those stories.
By hiring people who think and act like
journalists, and encouraging clients to allow
these “brand journalists” full access, PR firms
can provide tremendous value. A PR person
who looks at a client from a true journalistic
perspective should be able to unearth
both positive news (authentic stories that
reinforce the messages a company wants
to communicate about itself) and not-sopositive news (helping clients identify areas of
reputation risk).

bigger thinking.

www.makovsky.com

6. Being truly channel
neutral
The ideal of channel neutrality has been
on the communications industry agenda
for decades. It has (at least theoretically)
been at the heart of several approaches to
integration—“orchestration,” “the whole egg,”
and more. But it has proven incredibly difficult
to realize, perhaps because the wrong people
have been driving the process.
True channel neutrality is difficult for
advertising agencies, because the financial
rewards of persuading a client to invest in
one channel—paid advertising—provide an
almost irresistible attraction. Given the choice
between telling the client he or she needs a
billion dollar ad campaign or a $100,000 PR
initiative, most ad firms have found ways to
convince themselves—and their clients—that
the ad campaign is the best solution.
(The new generation of digital firms has
a slightly different challenge: by focusing
on and recruiting for a single channel of
communication, they lack the expertise to be
channel agnostic.)
But PR is not a channel, or a medium,
or a vehicle; it’s a process. There is no
reason why PR people should not be just as
comfortable suggesting a flashmob as they
are recommending a press conference; a
mobile app rather than a media release; or
even an ad campaign rather than a publicity
program.
No reason, that is, except that they lack the
talent in-house. If a PR firm is staffed entirely
with media relations experts, it is going to find
channel neutrality just as challenging as any
ad agency or digital specialist.

7. Eliminating internal
barriers
As public relations firms evolved, they
traditionally broke their businesses down in
a number of different ways: by the intended
audience (practice areas such as consumer
and corporate, public affairs and investor
relations); by industry section (healthcare,
technology, financial services); and—in the
case of the largest firms—by geography.
This made agencies more manageable—
and created opportunities for senior staff—but
it also erected barriers between the various
business units, often creating obstacles to
assembling the best people from multiple
practices, sectors and geographies. Those
barriers have become more problematic as
communications challenges have become

more complex. And ironically, there are more
of those barriers at the largest agencies,
which are often called upon the handle the
most complex, global issues.
Agencies need to ask themselves whether
these vestigial structures still make sense.
Is the “corporate” audience really so distinct
from the “consumer” audience? If so, is a
CSR campaign corporate (because a major
objective in enhanced reputation) or consumer
(because done right, CSR can help drive
sales)? Wouldn’t your public affairs efforts be
better served if they included an employee
communications component, motivating
ordinary employees to get involved?
And does having a “digital” practice make
any more sense than having a “print” practice
or a “radio” practice? Or does it perhaps
another barrier, one that actually makes it
more difficult to come up with channel-neutral
solutions?

8. Recruiting differently
There are people working in public relations
firms today who are more than capable
of doing many, perhaps all, of the things
described so far in this article.
There are (contrary to popular perception)
PR people who understand and even love
hard data; who have studied neuroscience
and applied its findings to their work; who
counsel their clients’ CEO on his actions
as well as his words; who are just as
comfortable recommending an ad campaign
as a PR program, if it’s the right solution to a
client’s problem.
But there are not enough of them, and
there won’t be enough of them until PR firms
change the way they recruit and target a
broader, more diverse range of people, taking
a risk on hiring candidates not only from
journalism and politics and finance, but from
marketing and research and academia and
a range of other disciplines that may seem
completely unrelated to PR as we currently
know it.

9. Creating new career
paths
Once those people have been recruited,
agencies will need to offer them career paths
that don’t necessarily look like the traditional
trajectory of a successful PR executive.
For one thing, that traditional trajectory
has never served agencies as well as they
might think. It has all too often resulted in
promoting a great PR person until he or she
is gradually shifted away from client work and

into the management of a “P&L”—often with
the result that the agency loses a great client
counselor and gains a mediocre (at best)
manager.
Many firms have been experimenting with
alternate career paths that keep their best
PR people close to their clients, turning
them into “client relationship managers”
running complex global accounts, but
there is still a perception that the top jobs
in most agencies—the ones that earn the
most money and the most respect—involve
managing a practice or an office.
That will need to change, as experts in data
analysis, those with a flair for insights and
creativity, those comfortable in the C-suite,
and those whose expertise involves internal
investigative journalism or content creation,
demand public relations careers that are as
fulfilling and as rewarding as those who are
excited by the prospect of managing a P&L—
or their own firm.

10. Make it matter
The final challenge, another one the
industry has been wrestling with for
decades, involves making sure that all of
this activity—improved use of data, better
insights, application of the latest science,
radical restructuring, recruitment and career
mapping—pays off in business terms.
Fortunately, there is recent research that
provides a map for PR measurement. Fred
Reicheld’s “net promoter score” approach
has focused primarily on demonstrating that
when consumers are more likely to advocate
for a brand—by recommending it to their
friends and peers—there is a real payoff in
terms of future performance. (Similarly, when
consumers are actively critical of a brand,
there is a measurable negative impact on
performance.)
There is no reason why this methodology
cannot be applied to other stakeholder
groups, and public relations people should
start every new campaign by asking, will this
increase the number of advocates and reduce
the number of detractors for the company,
organization, product or service. And they
should measure every campaign by figuring
out who the ratio of advocates to detractors
changed—and making sure management
understands how that ratio is relevant to
sales, profits and share price.

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A beastcreature found primarily in New York,

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Kwittken [kwit-tken]

FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS


HOW WERE FIRMS SELECTED
FOR INCLUSION IN THE
CONSUL
TANCY REPORT CARD?
THERE are several criteria for inclusion.One
is size. We made every effort to include the
largest pan-regional agencies as well as the
leaders in individual markets.
Awards were another indicator of quality,
and we included many firms that had won
awards in their local markets or in international
competition.
Finally, we gave special consideration to
members of the various international networks
of independent public relations consultancies,
on the grounds that these firms are particularly
focused on the kinds of international clients to
whom this Report Card is distributed.
Of course, we were dependent on the
participation of the firms themselves. We
contacted many firms to invite them to submit
the detailed information we needed in order to
create a thorough and accurate profile. Some
of them failed to respond and several declined
to participate.
DO YOU EVER WRITE NEGATIVE
REVIEWS OF THE FIRMS YOU
INCLUDE?
NOT usually. Firms are included because we
believe they are good enough to recommend
to our client-side readers. If we don’t think
a firm is good enough to be included, we
exclude it, rather than wasting our valuable
space and our readers’ valuable time with a
negative review.

HOW DID YOU SELECT YOUR
CONSULTANCIES OF THE YEAR?
WE met with many of the firms included in
this Report Card personally, sitting through
credentials presentations and discussions
about philosophy, culture, values, and strategy.
In addition to those meetings we spoke with
more than 100 clients and industry experts. In
almost every case, we asked the individuals
which firms they most respected.
We also took into consideration growth and
industry recognition such as awards, which
provide us with a unique insight into the way
participating consultancies think.
Both historic positioning in a market—consistent leadership over time—and more recent
accomplishments and performance were taken
into consideration.
HOW CAN MY FIRM PARTICIPATE
IN NEXT YEAR’S CONSULTANCY
REPORT CARD?
SIMPLY contact our editor, Paul Holmes at
pholmes@holmesreport.com. Be prepared to
answer questions about your firm ranging from
the general (what makes your firm different
from its competitors) to the specific (recent
new business successes, awards and recognition earned) and to include client references or
testimonials.
We will start pulling together information
for the 2014 Report Card soon. E-mail Paul
Holmes at the address above.
IS THERE ANY COST FOR
INCLUSION?
ABSOLUTELY not. Because the Report Card
reaches an extensive client-side readership—both in the U.S. and globally—several
participating firms have chosen to advertise,
but firms are included on merit, not because
they have bought ads, and we would never
exclude a firm that didn’t advertise.


Davies
transforms public perception

PRSA PRism - Winner, Public Affairs 2013
PRSA PRism - Winner, Community Relations 2013
O’Dwyers - 3rd Largest Environmental Firm in the U.S. 2013
Holmes Report - Best Agency to Work For 2005-2013
American Assoc. Political Consultants - Public Affairs and Issue Advocacy 2013
American Assoc. Political Consultants - Public Affairs Direct Mail 2013
American Assoc. Political Consultants - Best Facebook Page 2013
SABRE - Energy and Natural Resources, Gold B2B 2013
SABRE - Excellence in Content Creation, Silver 2013
SABRE - Certificate of Excellence 2013
Hermes - Corporate Image Video, Platinum 2013
Hermes - Social Media/YouTube, Platinum 2013
Hermes - Publications Brochure, Platinum 2013
Hermes - Website Overall Informational, Platinum 2013
Hermes - Public Relations Video, Platinum 2013
Hermes - Website Element and Design, Gold 2013
Hermes - Video Public Relations, Gold 2013
Holmes Report - Public Affairs Agency of the Year 2012
PR News - Top Places to Work in PR 2012
PRism - Excellence in Public Affairs 2012
American Assoc. Political Consultants - Best in Show 2012

DAVIESPUBLICAFFAIRS.COM | LOS ANGELES | SANTA BARBARA | WASHINGTON, DC

AGENCIES
OF THE YEAR

LARGE AGENCY
OF THE YEAR:
GOLINHARRIS
A little under two years ago, GolinHarris announced a
comprehensive restructuring of its business, replacing
the traditional practice areas with a radically reimagined
structure that divided its people between four communities: strategists (for insight and analytics), creators (for
content), connectors (for engagement), and catalysts
(account leaders). It was a bold move, designed to help
one of the smaller full-service multinationals compete
with their larger peers—and the early evidence suggests
that it has succeeded. GolinHarris enjoyed perhaps the
best year in its history in 2012. Growth of 17 percent
(about half of it organic) was among the best of the
large agencies. New business from the likes of Walmart,
Cisco, Baxter, Lilly, American Greetings, Mondelez,
and The Hartford demonstrated that it was capable of
competing against and beating larger firms for prestige
accounts. Award-winning products like real-time marketing offer The Bridge showed a commitment to innovation. And high marks on our Best Agencies to Work For
research indicated that employees have bought into the
new model.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
Edelman, Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum, Weber
Shandwick

MIDSIZE AGENCY
OF THE YEAR:
GIBBS & SOELL
FOR most of its 40-year history, Gibbs & Soell has been
a steady performer, content with consistent single-digit
growth and a reputation for rolling up its sleeves and delivering solid media results for its clients. But 2012 was a
break with tradition in more ways the one. First, the firm
restructured: refocusing on a few key industries in which
it has genuine depth, including advanced manufacturing,
agribusiness and food, home and building and professional services. Second, developing a suite of digital
and creative service. And third, launching new business
consulting, employee engagement and sustainability
groups that provided value-added strategic aspects to
the firm’s offer. The payoff was impressive: 34 percent
growth, taking the firm to within a whisker of $20 million
in fees; new business in every key sector, including
Hafele, Trudeau, Xuber, Lord Corporation, Gevo, Intertek,
Harris Interactive, Rexel, Panasonic Power Tools, and
Florida East Coast Railway; thought leadership including its Sense & Sustainability study an conference; and
creative recognition, including Silver SABRE Awards
for its media relations work for Harris Interactive and its
creation of a new brand identity for Syngenta.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
Cone, DKC, Havas PR, MWW

SMALL AGENCY OF THE YEAR:
SHIFT COMMUNICATIONS
AFTER winning Digital Agency of the Year in 2012, SHIFT
continued its impressive upward trajectory over the past
12 months, growing around 20 percent to almost $15m, a
rate that suggests it will soon outgrow this category. Just
as importantly, the firm continued to evolve an offering that
blends earned, paid and owned media, via an industryleading approach to content and analytics. Significantly,
a strong new business haul reflected the firm’s expansion
beyond its technology heartland, illustrated by such new
clients as McDonald’s, Toyota and Tyson Foods, along
with eye-catching work for Rethink Robotics and Zoosk.
There were some high-profile creative and digital hires and,
notably, the firm became one of a handful to implement an
employee stock ownership plan.—ASu
HONORABLE MENTION:
Fahlgren Mortine, Jackson Spalding, Kwittken &
Company, Mitchell Communications Group

BOUTIQUE AGENCY
OF THE YEAR:
FOODMINDS
SINCE its launch in 2006, FoodMinds has established
itself as a thought leader in the food and beverage sector,
growing at an impressive rate—fees were up 38 percent in
2012, to close to $5 million—and taking a lead role in the
dialogue on nutrition topics. The firm added 13 new clients
last year, including the Almond Board of California, the
American Heart Association, the Council for Responsible
Nutrition, the Institute of Food Technologists, Micropharma
and its Cardioviva product, and Nestlé, and deepened
a bench of experts that already included partners Laura
Cubillos, Bill Layden and Susan Pitman with five registered
dietitians. The firm also picked up a 2012 Gold SABRE for
its public affairs campaign on behalf of the National Potato
Council, ensuring that potatoes keep their place on school
menus.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
360 Public Relations, Borders & Gratehouse, Brew,
Southard Communications

NEW AGENCY OF THE YEAR:
THE HATCH AGENCY
LAUNCHED in January 2012 by OutCast alumni Reema
Bahnasy and Amy Swanson, this next-generation Silicon
Valley boutique has already driven three high-profile exits:
Karma, acquired by Facebook; Snip.It by Yahoo; and
Mailbox by Dropbox. Beyond this, the agency maintains a
stellar portfolio of innovation players, especially considering this is only its second year of business. These clients
include Dropbox, Highlight, Path, Quora and Beats by Dr.
Dre. The 14-person shop takes the approach that influence

Agencies of the Year
still matters, defining this— not only by solid
media relations—but also with experiential events
and content creation.—ASh
HONORABLE MENTION:

CONSUMER AGENCY OF
THE YEAR:
ZENO GROUP

Hotwire, M&C Saatchi, the 10 company, Zing ZENO Group has more doubled in size in
the US since Barby Siegel took over as chief
executive three years ago, and in 2012 it added

international operations, opening European
CANADIAN AGENCY OF
office in London and Amsterdam and an Asian
THE YEAR:
hub. Growth over the past 12 months was
close to 50 percent—it ended the year with
CITIZEN OPTIMUM
more than $20 million in fees—and there were
A year after Optimum rebranded to become Citinew clients across four core practice areas
zen Optimum—a part of the international Citizen
(consumer, corporate, health and technology)
Relations group that also includes the former
including Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, Kmart,
PainePR in the US—the firm has restructured
McAfee and Pinkberry. The firm also added
its practices and launched several new sersenior talent, recruiting John Hollywood from
vices under the leadership of Canadian general
Cohn & Wolfe to lead consumer and industry
manager Nick Cowling, and Isabelle Perras, who
veteran Ame Wadler to lead healthcare. But
leads the French Canadian offer out of Montreal
perhaps the most important achievement it
and Quebec City offices. Canadian fee income
carving out a distinctly different personality,
grew by about 22 percent in 2012, to around $8
based on its “fearless” positioning, from parent
million (US), picking up new work from marquee
Edelman, evidenced by its outstanding creative
client Procter & Gamble, and produced awardwork for clients such as Pizza Hut and Four
winning work for the Pampers brand, Tourism
Seasons.—PH
British Columbia, and Capital One Canada’s
HONORABLE MENTION:
financial literacy initiative.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
Edelman, Energi, Hill+Knowlton Strategies,
NATIONAL Public Relations

LATIN AMERICAN
AGENCY
OF THE YEAR:

Catalyst, DeVries, Marina Maher
Communications, PMK*BNC

CORPORATE AGENCY OF
THE YEAR:
PROSEK PARTNERS
IT was a busy year for Prosek Partners, which
changed its name (from CJP Communications),
opened a wholly-owned London office, made
an impression in the hypercompetitive mergers
and acquisition arena (ranked 11th in the US by
volume of deals and by value of deals, according to mergermarket) and grew by 20 percent
to end the year with fees of $15 million and a
place among the top 25 independent in the US.
The firm, which is best known for its work in the
financial and professional services arena, works
for big corporate names such as GE Capital,
RBS, Lloyd’s, Edward Jones, OppenheimerFunds, Franklin Templeton and ING and picked
up new assignments from RBC and Genworth as
well as working on a high-profile crisis assignment
for Dow Jones.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
Dix & Eaton, Gagen MacDonald, Sloane &
Company, Widmeyer Communications

CREATIVE AGENCY OF
THE YEAR:
CARMICHAEL LYNCH SPONG
WITH 57 Silver Anvils and 21 SABREs to its
name, no midsize public relations agency has
won more major awards over the years than
Carmichael Lynch Spong—which makes it a little
strange that the firm had never won our Creative

BURSON-MARSTELLER
BURSON-MARSTELLER was a pioneer in the
Latin American region, opening its first regional
office in São Paulo in 1977 and building and
maintaining its network through periods of
economic and political instability. Today—after a
year of healthy double digit growth in 2012—the
firm has more than 300 people in offices in
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia (the fastest
growing market right now), Mexico, Peru, Puerto
Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. New business last
year came from Akzo Nobel, Mondelez, PIMCO,
Procter & Gamble, and Unilever, abd there was
growth from existing clients including Ford and
Intel. One highlight last year was the growth of
the digital and social media practice under the
leadership of Cely Carmo; another was winning
a Global SABRE Award—the first presented to a
Latin American campaign—for public affairs work
on behalf of Mars’ Pedigree pet food brand.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
FSB, Imagem Corporotiva, Llorente &
Cuenca, JeffreyGroup

41 East 11th Street, New York 10003 • (212) 905-6060
www.TrylonSMR.com

Agency of the Year award until now. But its three Silver SABREs (a guerrilla marketing effort for Save-a-Lot, a Twinkie-themed publicity stunt for
Supervalu and Jewel-Osco, and photographic work for Merrick Pet Care
signaled an especially good year for the firm, as did four Gold SABRE
nominations. That kind of work has helped CLS retain its large, sevenfigure clients over a long period of time: Sherwin-Williams, Supervalu,
DSM, Jack Link’s, Trane, American Standard and Rapala have all called
CLS agency of record from eight to 21 years. And new business in 2012
came from Tempur-Pedic, Merrick, and First Bankcard.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
Coyne PR, Exponent, Ketchum, RF Binder

FINANCIAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR:
SARD VERBINNEN

‘Obamacare’ brief, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and Brigham & Women’s
Hospital, and growth from existing clients such as Novartis and the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Perhaps most impressive, however,
was the launch of Element, a new scientific communications specialty
that draws on MDs, PhDs, MSs and other scientific experts across the
Weber Shandwick network.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
Biosector 2, Cohn & Wolfe, Dodge Communications, GCI Health,
ReviveHealth

PUBLIC AFFAIRS AGENCY
OF THE YEAR:
SINGER ASSOCIATES

IN 2012, Sard Verbinnen was recognized as the number one M&A PR
advisor in terms of both value and volume of deals in the United States
by mergermarket, and continued to be one of the leaders in crisis
communications and litigation support, investor relations, and corporate
positioning work. Highlights included advising Deutsche Telekom and
T-Mobile on the contested pending acquisition of MetroPCS; McGraw-Hill
on the DOJ lawsuit against Standard & Poors; NYSE Euronext on its
pending acquisition by ICE; Forest Laboratories on its successful proxy
defense against Carl Icahn; and Alibaba Group on the privatization of
Alibaba.com.—PH

HAVING established itself as the go-to public affairs shop in Northern
California, Singer Associates continued its high-profile streak of business in 2012 with clients that include the City of San Bruno as it fought
to collect $70 million in damages from PG&E for a 2010 natural gas
explosion. Last year, the agency grew 15 percent, pulling nearly $5 million
in revenue with only 12 full-time staff. Among its new clients were the City
of Los Angeles, AirBnB, Hilton Hotels and Safeway, adding to its existing
base that includes Chevron, Calpine, Bay Area Rapid Transit and the City
of Oakland.—ASu

HONORABLE MENTION:

Burson-Marsteller, Fleishman-Hillard, Global Strategy Group,
Ogilvy Government Relations

Abernathy MacGregor, Brunswick, Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher, Kekst and Company

HONORABLE MENTION:

DIGITAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR:
W2O GROUP
LONG before “big data’ became one of the most fashionable terms in the
public relations lexicon, W2O was investing in the kind of resources that
could establish it as a leader in the space. That investment continued
apace in 2012, acquiring Mettle Consulting in the UK to build analytics
products and offerings focused on reputation, trust and governance,
and Ravel in the US to deliver a combination of historical information and
real-time insights to clients; creating MDigital Life to help understand how
physicians are using social media to improve patient health; and launching W2O Group/Newhouse Center for Social Commerce in partnership
with Syracuse University to build on the social commerce leadership of
founder Jim Weiss and social media guru Bob Pearson.—PH
HONORABLE MENTION:
M Booth, Edelman, Grow, Social@Ogilvy

HEALTHCARE AGENCY OF THE YEAR:
WEBER SHANDWICK
IN the 21st century, it is no longer enough for a healthcare public
relations firm to have a large roster of big pharma clients, and no firm
has done a better job of diversifying its portfolio than Weber Shandwick. Under the leadership of Laura Schoen, its global health practice
has a strong portfolio of clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical,
consumer health, medical devices, health IT, insurance, professional associations, health systems and hospitals, with major new assignments
in 2012 including the high-profile Health & Human Services Department


TECHNOLOGY AGENCY OF THE YEAR:
THE OUTCAST AGENCY
MORE than two years after its founders Margit Wennmachers and
Caryn Marooney departed the firm, OutCast remains among the most
respected and sought after—tech agencies. Under the leadership of
—
new CEO Alex Constantinople, the agency has retained a high-profile
client portfolio that includes Facebook, Amazon, Box, Zynga, Andreesen Horowitz, Spotify, Dolby, and Pinterest. OutCast continues to
assemble an all-star roster that is diversified beyond pure tech players
with additions, such as, L’Oreal, GE and Sephora. With revenues of
$18.7 million generated by 90 employees primarily in San Francisco and
New York, the agency is well-placed, especially as it makes investments
in creative services and brand/integrated marketing this year.—ASh
HONORABLE MENTION:
SparkPR, Edelman, Waggener Edstrom, Access Communications

Finemanpr.com | San Francisco | F T @finemanpr

Celebrating 25 years of award-winning
public relations campaigns, BRAND PR
programs, fully integrated strategies +
industry accolades.

L L L L L L

WE’VE GOT YOUR
C-SUITE COVERED.
CONSUMER
CORPORATE
CRISIS
CREATIVE
CONTENT
CONVERSATION

ALPHABETICAL INDEX
A
The Abernathy MacGregor Group................ 68
Access Communications ............................ 67
Ackermann PR............................................ 70
Airfoil Public Relations.................................. 70
Allidura Consumer....................................... 71
Allison+Partners.......................................... 71
APCO Worldwide........................................ 28
Arketi Group................................................ 71
Atomic PR................................................... 72

B
Biosector2................................................... 72
Bite ............................................................. 73
Blaze PR..................................................... 73
Blick&Staff Communications........................ 74
Bliss Integrated Communications................ 74
Bolt Public Relations.................................... 74
M Booth ..................................................... 75
Max Borges Agency.................................... 75
Brew Media Relations.................................. 76
Brodeur Partners......................................... 76
Brunswick Group......................................... 77
Burson Marstellar........................................ 32

C
Capstrat...................................................... 78
Carmichael Lynch Spong............................. 78
Catalyst....................................................... 79
Chamberlain Healthcare PR......................... 79
Chandler Chicco Agency............................. 80
Citizen Relations.......................................... 80
Cohn & Wolfe.............................................. 34
Cone........................................................... 81
Cooney/Waters Group................................. 82
CooperKatz & Company.............................. 82
Coyne Public Relations................................ 83
Crenshaw Communications......................... 83
Crossroads.................................................. 84

D
DKC............................................................ 84
Davies Public Affairs.................................... 85
DeVries Public Relations.............................. 86
Dix & Eaton................................................. 86
Dodge Communications.............................. 87

E
Eastwick...................................................... 87
Edelman...................................................... 36
energi PR.................................................... 88
Englander Knabe & Allen............................. 88
Exponent..................................................... 88

F
Fahlgren Mortine.......................................... 89
Fineman PR................................................. 90
Finn Partners............................................... 90
5W.............................................................. 91
FleishmanHillard.......................................... 40
FoodMinds.................................................. 91
Formula PR................................................. 92
Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher....... 92
French/West/Vaughan................................. 93

G
GCI Health................................................... 94


Gable PR..................................................... 95
Gage........................................................... 95
Gagen MacDonald...................................... 95
Gibbs & Soell............................................... 96
Global Results Communications.................. 97
Global Strategy Group................................. 97
Glover Park Group....................................... 98
GolinHarris................................................... 42
Goodman Media International...................... 98
Graham & Associates.................................. 99
Green Room................................................ 99
Grisko.......................................................... 99
The Grossman Group................................ 100
GroundFloor Media.................................... 100
Group Gordon...........................................101`

McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations...... 120
Middleberg Cmmunications....................... 120
William Mills Agency.................................. 120
Mitchell Communications Group................ 121

H

PAN Communications ............................... 123
PMK*BNC................................................. 123
Padilla CRT............................................... 124
Pollack PR Marketing Group...................... 124
Peppercomm............................................ 125
Porter Novelli............................................... 58
Prosek Partners......................................... 126
Public Communications, Inc...................... 126

Lou Hammond & Associates..................... 102
Hatch ....................................................... 102
Havas PR.................................................. 102
Hennes Paynter Communications.............. 103
Highwire PR ............................................. 103
Hill & Knowlton Strategies............................ 44
The Hoffman Agency................................. 104
Horn ......................................................... 104
Hotwire...................................................... 104
Hunter PR................................................. 105

I
Inner Circle Labs........................................ 106
Intermarket Communications..................... 106

J
JPA Health Communications..................... 107
JSH&A Communications........................... 107
Jackson Spalding...................................... 108
JeffreyGroup.............................................. 108

K
K/F Communications................................. 109
Kaplow...................................................... 109
Karwoski & Courage.................................. 110
Kearns & West........................................... 110
Kekst and Company.................................. 111
Ketchum...................................................... 48
Kel & Partners........................................... 111
Kohnstamm Communications................... 111
Konnect PR .............................................. 112
kwittken + company worldwide................. 112

L
LVM Group................................................ 113
LaGrant Communications ......................... 113
Landis Communications............................ 113
Lane PR.................................................... 114
LaunchSquad............................................ 114
Levick Strategic Communications.............. 115
Lewis PR................................................... 115
Lippe Taylor Brand Communications......... 116

M
MBS Value Partners................................... 116
MCS Healthcare Public Relations.............. 116
MGA Communications.............................. 117
MRB.......................................................... 117
MSLGroup................................................... 50
MWW Group............................................... 52
Marina Maher Communications................. 118
Makovsky + Company............................... 118
March PR.................................................. 119

N
National Public Relations........................... 121

O
Ogilvy PR Worldwide................................... 56
Olson Engage............................................ 122
O’Malley Hansen Communications............ 122
The OutCast Agency ................................ 123

P

R
rbb Public Relations................................... 127
RF|Binder.................................................. 127
Racepoint Group....................................... 128
Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications.128
ReviveHealth............................................. 130
Rogers & Cowan....................................... 130
Ruder Finn................................................... 60

S
Sard Verbinnen & Co................................. 131
Schneider & Associates............................. 131
Shift Communications............................... 132
Singer Associates...................................... 132
Sitrick & Company..................................... 132
Sloane & Company.................................... 134
Smith & Harroff.......................................... 134
Southard Communications........................ 135
Sparkpr..................................................... 135
The Standing Partnership.......................... 136
Stevens Strategic Communications........... 136
Story Partners........................................... 136
Stuntman PR............................................. 137
Sunwest Communications......................... 137
SutherlandGold......................................... 138

T
Taylor ........................................................ 138
the 10 company........................................ 139
Text 100.................................................... 139
360 Public Relations^139
Trevelino Keller Communications Group..... 140
Trylon SMR................................................ 140
Tunheim..................................................... 141

W
W2O............................................................ 62
Waggener Edstrom...................................... 64
Warschawski............................................. 141
Weber Shandwick....................................... 66

Z
Zapwater................................................... 141
Zeno Group............................................... 142
Zing........................................................... 142

It’s Not What You Say About Yourself That Matters
But What Others Say
Here’s what has been said about Sitrick And Company:
“The City’s Most Prominent Crisis Management Firm.”
The New York Times
“Now (they) have hired Michael Sitrick, whose Los Angeles public-relations firm is known for going
atomic on opponents, using “truth squads” (which dig up alleged inaccuracies in the media), “wheel-ofpain” tactics (negative publicity to quicken settlements), and high-profile journalists (who write profiles).”
— Business Week
“The firm is also home to perhaps the most concentrated congregation of journalistic talent in the public
relations business. The vast majority of its senior professionals are former editors, reporters, and correspondents at such publications as Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, CBS News,
and NPR, with most of the others having spent time in senior corporate communications positions.”
— The Holmes Report
“Like more than one figure caught in a media cyclone, (he) had turned to one of the most accomplished practitioners of the dark arts of public relations ... The Winston Wolf of public relations had arrived. Wolf, as you
will recall, was the fixer in Pulp Fiction … he washed away assassins’ blood and gore. Sitrick cleans up the
messes of companies, celebrities, and others, and he’s a strategist who isn’t adverse to treating PR as combat.”
— Fortune
To learn more about what people are saying about Sitrick And Company, go to our website:

www.sitrick.com

Corporate, Financial, Transactional, Reputational and Crisis Communications

Los Angeles • New York • San Francisco • Chicago • Washington, D.C.

800-288-8809

GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
ALABAMA
birmingham
Story Partners.................................. 136

ARKANSAS
fayetteville
Mitchell Communications Group....... 121

ARIZONA
phoenix
Allison+Partners................................. 71
Brodeur Partners................................ 76

CALIFORNIA
irvine
Bolt Public Relations........................... 74
Citizen Relations................................. 80
Global Results Communications......... 97

los angeles
The Abernathy MacGregor Group....... 68
Atomic PR.......................................... 72
Biosector2.......................................... 72
Blaze PR............................................ 73
Brew Media Relations......................... 76
Catalyst.............................................. 79
Chandler Chicco Agency.................... 80
Crenshaw Communications................ 83
DKC................................................... 84
Davies Public Affairs........................... 85
Englander Knabe & Allen.................... 88
Finn Partners...................................... 90
Formula PR........................................ 92
French/West/Vaughan........................ 93
GCI Health.......................................... 94
Global Strategy Group........................ 97
Glover Park Group.............................. 98
Goodman Media International............. 98
Konnect PR ..................................... 112
LaGrant Communications ................ 113
Lewis PR.......................................... 115
PMK*BNC........................................ 123
Padilla CRT...................................... 124
Pollack PR Marketing Group............. 124
ReviveHealth.................................... 130
Rogers & Cowan.............................. 130
Sard Verbinnen & Co........................ 131
Sitrick & Company............................ 132
Southard Communications............... 135
Taylor ............................................... 138
Text 100........................................... 139
Zeno Group...................................... 142
Zing.................................................. 142

sacramento
Kearns & West.................................. 110

san diego
Formula PR........................................ 92
Gable PR............................................ 95

san jose
Lewis PR.......................................... 115


san francisco
Access Communications ................... 67
Atomic PR.......................................... 72
Biosector2.......................................... 72
Bite .................................................... 73
Brunswick Group................................ 77
Eastwick............................................. 87
Fineman PR........................................ 90
Finn Partners...................................... 90
GCI Health.......................................... 94
Graham & Associates......................... 99
Hatch .............................................. 102
Highwire PR .................................... 103
Horn ................................................ 104
Hotwire............................................. 104
Inner Circle Labs............................... 106
K/F Communications........................ 109
Kearns & West.................................. 110
Kekst and Company......................... 111
Landis Communications................... 113
LaunchSquad................................... 114
Lewis PR.......................................... 115
Olson Engage................................... 122
The OutCast Agency ....................... 123
Peppercomm................................... 125
Racepoint Group.............................. 128
Shift Communications...................... 132
Singer Associates............................. 132
Sloane & Company........................... 134
Sparkpr............................................ 135
SutherlandGold................................ 138
Text 100........................................... 139

Finn Partners...................................... 90
JPA Health Communications............ 107
Kearns & West.................................. 110
Levick Strategic Communications..... 115
Lewis PR.......................................... 115
Racepoint Group.............................. 128
Story Partners.................................. 136
Zeno Group...................................... 142

FLORIDA
ft lauderdale
Fahlgren Mortine................................. 89

miami
Max Borges Agency........................... 75
JeffreyGroup..................................... 108
rbb Public Relations.......................... 127
Rogers & Cowan.............................. 130

tampa

GEORGIA
atlanta
Arketi Group....................................... 71
Dodge Communications..................... 87
GCI Health.......................................... 94
Jackson Spalding............................. 108
William Mills Agency......................... 120
Trevelino Keller
Communications Group............... 140

ILLINOIS
chicago

MARYLAND
baltimore
Warschawski.................................... 141

MASSACHUSETTS
boston
Cone.................................................. 81
GCI Health.......................................... 94
Green Room....................................... 99
Kel & Partners.................................. 111
LaunchSquad................................... 114
Lewis PR.......................................... 115
March PR......................................... 119
PAN Communications ...................... 123
Racepoint Group.............................. 128
Rasky Baerlein
Strategic Communications........... 128
Schneider & Associates.................... 131
Sloane & Company........................... 134
Text 100........................................... 139
360 Public Relations......................... 139

MICHIGAN
detroit
Airfoil Public Relations......................... 70

MINNESOTA
minneapolis
Carmichael Lynch Spong.................... 78
Exponent............................................ 88
Gage.................................................. 95
Karwoski & Courage......................... 110
Kohnstamm Communications.......... 111
Olson Engage................................... 122
Padilla CRT...................................... 124
Tunheim............................................ 141

Prosek Partners................................ 126

Bliss Integrated Communications....... 74
DKC................................................... 84
Finn Partners...................................... 90
FoodMinds......................................... 91
Gagen MacDonald............................. 95
Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96
Grisko................................................. 99
The Grossman Group....................... 100
Havas PR......................................... 102
Highwire PR .................................... 103
JSH&A Communications.................. 107
Olson Engage................................... 122
O’Malley Hansen Communications... 122
Public Communications, Inc............. 126
Taylor ............................................... 138
Zapwater.......................................... 141
Zeno Group...................................... 142

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

LOUISIANA

Coyne Public Relations....................... 83

washington

new orleans

Brunswick Group................................ 77
DKC................................................... 84

Story Partners.................................. 136

MCS Healthcare Public Relations..... 116

silicon valley
Atomic PR.......................................... 72
Eastwick............................................. 87
The Hoffman Agency........................ 104

COLORADO
boulder
GroundFloor Media........................... 100

denver
Kearns & West.................................. 110
MGA Communications..................... 117

CONNECTICUT
hartford

stamford

MISSOURI
kansas city
Crossroads......................................... 84

st. louis
Blick&Staff Communications............... 74
The Standing Partnership................. 136

NEW HAMPSHIRE
portsmouth

NEW JERSEY
freehold
MRB................................................. 117

parsippany
summit

When
Judgement + Experience
Matter Most

When facing serious challenges that demand immediate and effective
communications strategy and execution, public and private companies as
well as not-for-profit institutions count on KEKST for sound judgment and
experience that make the difference.

• Crisis Communications
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism
• Litigation and Regulatory Support
• Private Equity and Hedge Fund Communications
• Bankruptcy & Restructuring
• Corporate Positioning and Investor Relations

For further information visit www.kekst.com or call 212-521-4800


NEW YORK
albany
DKC................................................... 84

new york
Allidura Consumer.............................. 71
Atomic PR.......................................... 72
Biosector2.......................................... 72
Bite .................................................... 73
M Booth ............................................ 75
Brunswick Group................................ 77
Catalyst.............................................. 79
Chamberlain Healthcare PR................ 79
Cooney/Waters Group........................ 82
CooperKatz & Company..................... 82
DKC................................................... 84
DeVries Public Relations..................... 86
Finn Partners...................................... 90
5W..................................................... 91
Formula PR........................................ 92
Joele Frank
Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher............ 92
GCI Health.......................................... 94
Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96
Group Gordon.................................. 101
Lou Hammond & Associates............ 102
Havas PR......................................... 102
Horn ................................................ 104
Hotwire............................................. 104
Hunter PR........................................ 105
Intermarket Communications............ 106
JeffreyGroup..................................... 108
Kaplow............................................. 109
kwittken + company worldwide........ 112
LVM Group....................................... 113
Lane PR........................................... 114
LaunchSquad................................... 114
Lewis PR.......................................... 115
Lippe Taylor Brand Communications.116
MBS Value Partners.......................... 116
Marina Maher Communications........ 118
Makovsky + Company...................... 118
Middleberg Cmmunications.............. 120
National Public Relations.................. 121
Olson Engage................................... 122
PMK*BNC........................................ 123


Padilla CRT...................................... 124
Peppercomm................................... 125
Prosek Partners................................ 126
RF|Binder......................................... 127
Rogers & Cowan.............................. 130
Sitrick & Company............................ 132
Sloane & Company........................... 134
Sparkpr............................................ 135
Stuntman PR.................................... 137
Taylor ............................................... 138
the 10 company............................... 139
Text 100........................................... 139
360 Public Relations......................... 139
Trylon SMR....................................... 140
Zeno Group...................................... 142
Zing.................................................. 142

rochester

SOUTH CAROLINA
charleston

TENNESSEE
knoxville
Ackermann PR................................... 70
McNeely Pigott & Fox
Public Relations........................... 120

nashxville

houston

alexandria
norfolk

raleigh

WASHINGTON

Capstrat............................................. 78
Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96

seattle

OHIO

Atomic PR.......................................... 72
Lewis PR.......................................... 115
Text 100........................................... 139

cleveland

WEST VIRGINIA

Dix & Eaton........................................ 86
Hennes Paynter Communications..... 103
Stevens Strategic Communications.. 136

charleston

cinncinnatti

buenos aires


JeffreyGroup..................................... 108


ARGENTINA

BRAZIL

dayton

são paulo


JeffreyGroup..................................... 108

toledo

CANADA
calgary

portland

montreal

Kearns & West.................................. 110
Lane PR........................................... 114

energi PR........................................... 88

quebec city

philadelphia

toronto


energi PR........................................... 88
GCI Health.......................................... 94
Zeno Group...................................... 142

pittsburgh
Havas PR......................................... 102

london

Atomic PR.......................................... 72
Biosector2.......................................... 72
Bite .................................................... 73
Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96
Hotwire............................................. 104
Prosek Partners................................ 126
Racepoint Group.............................. 128
Sparkpr............................................ 135
Text 100........................................... 139

Smith & Harroff................................. 134

PENNSYLVANIA

UK

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

charlotte

OREGON

JeffreyGroup..................................... 108

Brunswick Group................................ 77
Sunwest Communications................ 137

Padilla CRT...................................... 124


mexico city

dallas

NORTH CAROLINA


MEXICO

TEXAS

VIRGINIA

columbus


PMK*BNC........................................ 123
Peppercomm................................... 125
Rogers & Cowan.............................. 130

ReviveHealth.................................... 130

Text 100........................................... 139

Catalyst.............................................. 79
Taylor ............................................... 138

vancouver

SPECIALTY INDEX
BOUTIQUE
Blaze PR............................................ 73
LVM Group....................................... 113

Karwoski & Courage......................... 110
Kel & Partners.................................. 111
Konnect PR ..................................... 112
LaunchSquad................................... 114

BRAND BUILDING



RF|Binder......................................... 127

Cone.................................................. 81

Sparkpr............................................ 135

Middleberg Communications............ 120
Peppercomm................................... 125
Racepoint Group.............................. 128
Story Partners.................................. 136


CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS


Lewis PR.......................................... 115

Zeno Group...................................... 142


Kaplow............................................. 109

Horn ................................................ 104
Kaplow............................................. 109

ENERGY

Zing.................................................. 142


M Booth ............................................ 75

Stuntman PR.................................... 137

Hunter PR........................................ 105

DIGITAL

Cone.................................................. 81
Joele Frank Wilkinson

Cohn & Wolfe..................................... 34
Edelman............................................. 36
FleishmanHillard................................. 40
GolinHarris.......................................... 42
Hill+Knowlton Strategies..................... 44
Ketchum............................................. 48
MSLGroup.......................................... 50
MWW Group...................................... 52
Ogilvy PR Worldwide.......................... 56
Padilla CRT...................................... 124
Porter Novelli...................................... 58
RF|Binder......................................... 127
Ruder Finn.......................................... 60
W20................................................... 62
Waggener Edstrom............................. 64

EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS

Weber Shandwick.............................. 66

Gagen MacDonald............................. 95

Zapwater.......................................... 141

The Grossman Group....................... 100

HEALTHCARE

Tunheim............................................ 141


ENTERTAINMENT

Biosector2.......................................... 72

Gagen MacDonald............................. 95

Atomic PR.......................................... 72



Catalyst.............................................. 79


Group Gordon.................................. 101

DKC................................................... 84

Capstrat............................................. 78

Kekst and Company........................... 00


Chamberlain Healthcare PR................ 79



BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B)

PMK*BNC........................................ 123


Rogers & Cowan.............................. 130

Cooney/Waters Group........................ 82

Arketi Group....................................... 71


Olson Engage................................... 122
Taylor ............................................... 138

Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96
Havas PR......................................... 102
March PR......................................... 119
Peppercomm................................... 125

Brimmer Katcher............................ 92


Peppercomm................................... 125

FINANCIAL SERVICES


RF|Binder......................................... 127



Rasky Baerlein Strategic
Communications.......................... 128
Sloane & Company........................... 134


energi PR........................................... 88

Brunswick Group................................ 77

Exponent............................................ 88


5W..................................................... 91

Brimmer Katcher............................ 92

GCI Health.......................................... 94

CAUSE MARKETING


Group Gordon.................................. 101

Green Room....................................... 99





Crossroads......................................... 84

the 10 company............................... 139


MCS Healthcare Public Relations..... 116


Tunheim............................................ 141

Lane PR........................................... 114


CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY



COMMUNITY RELATIONS

MBS Value Partners.......................... 116





RF|Binder......................................... 127

CONSUMER MARKETING

CRISIS MANAGEMENT


ReviveHealth.................................... 130
Zeno Group...................................... 142


Prosek Partners................................ 126

Blaze PR............................................ 73

Cone.................................................. 81

RF|Binder......................................... 127

M Booth ............................................ 75





Hennes Paynter Communications..... 103

FOOD & BEVERAGE

JeffreyGroup..................................... 108



Exponent............................................ 88




FoodMinds......................................... 91

energi PR........................................... 88



Fineman PR........................................ 90


Lane PR........................................... 114

5W..................................................... 91

Sitrick & Company............................ 132

Havas PR......................................... 102

Sloane & Company........................... 134

FULL SERVICE



APCO Worldwide............................... 28



Burson-Marstellar............................... 32


Sloane & Company........................... 134

HISPANIC MARKETING
Fineman PR........................................ 90
Formula PR........................................ 92

INTEGRATED MARKETING
Gage.................................................. 95
Smith & Harroff................................. 134
INTERNATIONAL


Text 100........................................... 139
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Dix & Eaton........................................ 86
Prosek Partners................................ 126
Sitrick & Company............................ 132
LIFESTYLE
Blaze PR............................................ 73
M Booth ............................................ 75
Catalyst.............................................. 79
Highwire PR .................................... 103
Kaplow............................................. 109
Konnect PR ..................................... 112
Taylor ............................................... 138
LITIGATION
M&A
Brunswick Group................................ 77
Brimmer Katcher............................ 92
Prosek Partners................................ 126
MARKETING
Arketi Group....................................... 71
DKC................................................... 84
Grisko................................................. 99

MOBILE

Racepoint Group.............................. 128

Arketi Group....................................... 71

Rasky Baerlein Strategic

Atomic PR.......................................... 72

Communications.......................... 128

Bite .................................................... 73



MULTISPECIALIST

Sitrick & Company............................ 132



Sloane & Company........................... 134


Smith & Harroff................................. 134


Story Partners.................................. 136

Eastwick............................................. 87

Text 100........................................... 139

energi PR........................................... 88

Finn Partners...................................... 90

Tunheim............................................ 141

Finn Partners...................................... 90

Formula PR........................................ 92

REAL ESTATE

Kel & Partners.................................. 111


Gable PR............................................ 95
Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96
Group Gordon.................................. 101
Havas PR......................................... 102
kwittken + company worldwide........ 112
Lane PR........................................... 114
Olson Engage................................... 122
Trevelino Keller
MULTICULTUAL
NON-PROFIT
PRODUCT LAUNCH

Hatch .............................................. 102


Highwire PR .................................... 103

LVM Group....................................... 113


REGIONAL AGENCY

K/F Communications........................ 109

McNeely Pigott &

Kel & Partners.................................. 111

Fox Public Relations..................... 120

LaunchSquad................................... 114


Lewis PR.......................................... 115


MRB................................................. 117

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING




Middleberg Communications............ 120

Racepoint Group.............................. 128



Olson Engage................................... 122

Sparkpr............................................ 135


SutherlandGold................................ 138

SPORTS MARKETING
Catalyst.............................................. 79

LVM Group....................................... 113
MRB................................................. 117
Sitrick & Company............................ 132
Stuntman PR.................................... 137
SutherlandGold................................ 138
Trylon SMR....................................... 140
Warschawski.................................... 141


Text 100........................................... 139
Trevelino Keller

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES



Taylor ............................................... 138

Capstrat............................................. 78

STARTUPS

TRAVEL & TOURISM



LVM Group....................................... 113

Horn ................................................ 104

STRATEGIC COUNSELING

Horn ................................................ 104

March PR......................................... 119

M Booth ............................................ 75

Brunswick Group................................ 77




MEDIA RELATIONS

5W..................................................... 91

Hotwire............................................. 104

Dix & Eaton........................................ 86


DKC................................................... 84

Horn ................................................ 104

Ackermann PR................................... 70

PUBLIC AFFAIRS & ISSUES MANAGEMENT




Rogers & Cowan.............................. 130


Gibbs & Soell...................................... 96

Capstrat............................................. 78
FoodMinds......................................... 91
Grisko................................................. 99
Group Gordon.................................. 101
Kearns & West.................................. 110

Brunswick Group................................ 77
Dix & Eaton........................................ 86
Gagen MacDonald............................. 95
Kearns & West.................................. 110
the 10 company............................... 139
SUSTAINABILITY

McNeely Pigott &
Fox Public Relations..................... 120

TECHNOLOGY

Trylon SMR....................................... 140
Zeno Group...................................... 142

WOMEN
Southard Communications................. 00

IT’S NOT THE

SIZE OF THE

DOG
SIZE OF THEIN THE
IT’S NOT THE

DOG
IN THE

FIGHT

FIGHT

IT’S
THE
SIZE OF THE
IN THE DOG

IT’S
THE
SIZE OF THE
IN THE DOG
Global communications
with impact

www.lewispr.com


APCO WORLDWIDE
a small outpost north of the border in Ottawa.

INTERNATIONAL REACH

Margery Kraus

MOMENTUM
After taking a recession-related hit in 2009,
APCO has bounced back over the past three
years, seeing worldwide revenues increase
from just under $100 million to just over $122
million, and while growth in North America was
modest last year, it continued to positive trend.
New business came from a mix of existing
clients and new wins: Boeing, Coach, ebay,
GE, Honeywell, KFC, May Kay, Pepsi,
Rotary International, and the University of
Southern California.

NATIONAL REACH
APCO’s Washington, DC, office is still
a powerhouse, home to the majority of its
US workforce, a leader in public affairs,
with considerable additional strength in
corporate communications, and sector
expertise in healthcare, financial services and
energy. The firm’s New York office now has
about 40 people, with particular strength
in financial communications and corporate
social responsibility, supplemented by the
Strawberry Frog advertising and branding
operation, which maintains its own Madison
Avenue offices. There are smaller US offices
in Boston, Chicago, Raleigh-Durham,
Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle, and

TALENT

APCO is still somewhat smaller across the
EMEA region than most of its multinational
peers, deriving only about a quarter of its
global revenues from its European operations.
Its largest EMEA office in London, with a team
of more than 50, and has evolved beyond
public affairs to include a broad range of
corporate reputation work while maintaining
the firm’s C-suite focus. The Brussels office,
meanwhile, remains focused on EU policy
work. But the most impressive growth has
come in the Middle East, where APCO
acquired local consultancy Ji-Win two years
ago. About $11.3 million of APCO’s $120
million worldwide fee income derives from its
Asia-Pacific operations, with the strongest
growth last year coming in South-East Asia.
Key clients in the region include Corning,
Diageo, Dow Corning, Huawei, Johnson &
Johnson, MasterCard, pharmaceutical trade
body PhRMA.

APCO remains one of the most top-heavy
of the large firms, its focus on high-margin
business and its independence providing the
freedom to make the kind of investment hires
that large holding companies discourage. New
over the past 12 months are Mike Tuffin,
former EVP of America’s Health Insurance
Plans, as managing director in Washington,
DC; Rebecca Boles from David All Group
as director of digital strategy; as well as a
number of key additions to the firm’s unique
and impressive international advisory council,
from former US Rep. Cliff Stearns to venture
capital firm partner Bob Kocher to ex-Harford
CCO and CMO Karen Tripp. They join a
formidable and largely stable leadership team
led by founder and chief executive Margery
Kraus, president and COO Neal Cohen,
and supported by an international advisory
board that provides the team with access to
the collective experience of a unique cadre of
veteran politicians, business execs, diplomats,
and communicators.

EXPERTISE

CULTURE

Thirty years after its launch as a one-person
public affairs subsidiary of a DC-based law firm,
APCO remains one of the go-to agencies for
policy issues in the nation’s capital, but much
of the firm’s recent growth has come in other
areas, including a wide range of corporate
reputation work (CSR, crisis and issues
management, employee communications,
and more) and expanding brand-building
capabilities. It has also established itself
as a major player in several sectors, most
notably healthcare and consumer goods, but
also financial services and energy and clean
technology (not coincidentally, highly-regulated
businesses). Throw in one of the best research
and insights groups in the business, and the
Studio Online digital practice, and APCO is a
much more well-rounded operation today than
it was three or four years ago.

APCO’s vision is “to be the trusted partner
of choice, creating value by challenging
conventional wisdom and providing global
service, culture by culture.” To focus on the
former, the firm redefined its employee value
proposition last year, urging employees to “try
something new every day” and “forge your own
path,” emphasizing the ability of individuals
to define their own “APCO Experience.” The
commitment to a one-firm approach to service,
meanwhile, manifests itself most obviously
with a transfer policy that saw 5 percent of
employees take secondments to other offices
in 2012, and aims to double that this year.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CREATIVE SCIENCE AT
MBOOTH.COM OR TELLMEMORE@MBOOTH.COM


INTELLECTUAL
LEADERSHIP
APCO has been conducting some of the
most interesting research in the business
with its focus on “champion brands,” which
finds widespread agreement that public
expectations regarding corporate conduct
have become more demanding, that
companies have a role to play in shaping a
better society, and that the best companies
advocate for the things that are important
to their stakeholders, creating shared value.
The firm’s predictive risk modeling service,
meanwhile, seeks to identify stakeholder
concerns before they turn into full-blown
crises, while its Return on Reputation indicator
seeks to demonstrate the very tangible
benefits of a superior reputation—from
consumer sales to support for a company’s
policy positions to employee engagement and
ultimately share price.

PROGRAMS
The best illustration of APCO’s continued
drive to diversify beyond its public affairs
roots comes from the range of high-profile
assignments, from internal and external
communications surrounding CEO
succession at Coach to handling supply
chain and corporate governance issues for
Gap, to health and nutrition messages for
Mars, to work for Mary Kay that spans
cause related marketing—an anti-domestic
violence effort—and social media, including
a makeover competition. The firm’s financial
communications work, on corporate
restructuring at United, Universal Music
Group’s acquisition of EMI, and for the
MFGlobal bankruptcy trustee has been
particularly noteworthy, while in the public
affairs realm it worked with Sprint to oppose
the proposed AT&T-Tmobile merger and with
the American Beverage Association to
fight New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s
proposed ban on large sugary drinks.


BRAND
Traditionally, APCO’s marketing efforts have
been led by white papers and other thought
leadership, with in-depth looks at topics

of Strawberry Frog—really pay off. In the
meantime, the firm continues to diversify in
terms of the kind of work it does (without
losing its focus on high-value C-suite issues)
and expand its geographic base.

”THE FIRM CONTINUES TO DIVERSIFY
IN TERMS OF THE KIND OF WORK IT
DOES (WITHOUT LOSING ITS FOCUS
ON HIGH-VALUE C-SUITE ISSUES) AND
EXPAND ITS GEOGRAPHIC BASE”

ranging from cyber-security to the experience
of Chinese companies in the United States.
The firm has also published research around
its “champion brand” approach, and its Return
on Reputation methodology, the latter focused
on the pharmaceutical sector in 2012, with
new studies on food and chemicals to come
in 2013. And APCO renewed its commitment
to community service last year, supporting the
Clinton Global Initiative and the UN Global
Compact, and working with Yunus Social
Business and its founder, Mohammed Yunus.
All of that is supplemented by a growing social
media presence and contributes to a brand
that is well differentiated from the other large
multinational agencies.

THE FUTURE
To a certain extent, APCO is now waiting to
see whether some of the big bets it has made
over the past couple of years—expansion
in China, where there would appear to be
limitless opportunity for a firm that really
understands the government affairs business,
and in the Middle East; the acquisition

@joshmiko: Everything about today ruled. Meeting the
NY team @FinnPartners Going on a boat cruise, drinks on
a ﬂoating two story barge #newexperiences
@Heather_Gordon: On this #LaborDay, I’m thankful to
work for the best PR agency on the planet, @FinnPartners
#cheesybuttrue
@Zafar4Hope: Well done @ﬁnnpartners team! Another
successful year for the #HyundaiHopeOnWheels program.
Thank you for all your hard work.
@VisitJamaicaNow: Having a great time presenting
#SocialMedia & PR w/@FinnPartners at our tourism industry
seminar @SunsetJamaica. Thanks for joining us Finn!
@DanRatherReport: Quick words of tks to the great
@FinnPartners team for their partnership & support of
www.danrather.com & Rather Outspoken over past yr
@prosperitygal: Wanted to share with you @DavidBurkus
your #PR team is awesomesauce ;) talk to you next week
on #BBSradio
@AdvantixSystems: 2013 has been a great year for
@AdvantixSystems! Thanks to our customers and partners,
incl @FinnPartners, for helping us achieve greater EE

Best place to work,
best results for our
clients #justsayin

2013 Americas PR Agency Report Card

2013 Americas PR Agency Report Card

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2013 Americas PR Agency Report Card