May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com
May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com
May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com
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SPECIAL REPORT<br />
<strong>PR</strong> firms attribute recent growth to social media<br />
Only one of the ten biggest firms reporting their numbers to<br />
O’Dwyer’s experienced a down year in 2010 — a sharp contrast<br />
to 2009, when eight of the ten reporting firms showed<br />
net fees in the minus column. Nearly all cited a single factor<br />
— social media — as a reason for the sudden rebound.<br />
WPP head Martin Sorrell on<br />
March 4 told the Financial<br />
Times that he expects “new<br />
media” will make up to 35-40% of<br />
WPP’s revenues in the <strong>com</strong>ing years.<br />
During a speech to the Institute for <strong>PR</strong> in<br />
November 2008, Sorrell similarly said<br />
social media is made to order for <strong>PR</strong> people<br />
because they are used to interaction<br />
and “nuanced” <strong>com</strong>munication.<br />
WPP, one of the two biggest ad agency<br />
holding <strong>com</strong>panies with $15 billion in<br />
revenues, owns many <strong>PR</strong> firms including<br />
Hill & Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller.<br />
WPP and the other conglomerates have<br />
not allowed any dollar or employee totals<br />
to emerge from their <strong>PR</strong> firms since 2001<br />
because of Sarbanes-Oxley considerations.<br />
Blue chip <strong>com</strong>panies were told last<br />
year to approach the web with caution<br />
during a press conference held by Vision<br />
Critical, which does research for blue<br />
chips. Social media is an “expensive and<br />
potentially explosive medium” but tends<br />
to represent “the bleeding edge of humor,<br />
provocativeness, candor or shock value,”<br />
the conference was told.<br />
<strong>PR</strong> industry rebounds with big gains<br />
Of the largest firms reporting their net<br />
earnings to O’Dwyer’s, 11 of the top 25<br />
and 22 of the top 50 showed double-digit<br />
gains, a contrast to 2009 when 32 of the<br />
top 50 had downturns.<br />
Seventy-one of 152 firms reporting had<br />
double-digit gains vs. only 22 of 135<br />
reporting having such gains in 2009.<br />
See O’Dwyer’s rankings of<br />
TOP U.S. <strong>PR</strong> firms, pg. 26<br />
WCG, formerly WeissComm Group,<br />
had the biggest gain in the top ten — up<br />
37.6% to $37 million, in fifth place<br />
behind Waggener Edstrom at $111.9 million,<br />
up 5.9%, and Ruder Finn, at $97<br />
million, up 8.8%.<br />
Soaring past the half-billion mark was<br />
top-ranked Edelman with an $81.8 million<br />
gain to $521.9 million, a jump of<br />
18.6%.<br />
Richard Edelman, President and CEO<br />
of Edelman, said much of the 2010 gain<br />
10<br />
MAY 2011 WWW.ODWYER<strong>PR</strong>.COM<br />
By Jack O’Dwyer and Kevin McCauley<br />
was from current clients expanding their<br />
budgets.<br />
“Clients took advantage of our expanded<br />
digital offerings,” he said.<br />
The firm built online “embassies” for<br />
Unilever and eBay on Twitter and<br />
Facebook, among its digital assignments.<br />
“Our global network hit full stride in<br />
2010 as accounts based in New York and<br />
London ran campaigns out of overseas<br />
offices,” he said. “Especially active”<br />
were Shell and liquor marketer Diageo.<br />
International work generated 34% of<br />
the fee total, rising 18.2% to $179 million.<br />
The firm operates in 27 markets<br />
overseas. China revenues grew 27.7% to<br />
$10.4 million; Brazil up 68% to $6.8 million;<br />
Singapore up 36% to $6.3 million,<br />
and Hong Kong up 21.3% to $5.3 million.<br />
“Clients are no longer asking ‘just for<br />
press’ but for a range of things,” said<br />
Edelman. “Clients are now operating<br />
from a different runway, they now ask us<br />
to tell them what to do.”<br />
Digital, social media drives <strong>PR</strong> growth<br />
Atomic <strong>PR</strong>, a tech, consumer and<br />
entertainment firm, posted the biggest<br />
gain in O’Dwyer’s top 50 — up 46% to<br />
$11.1 million.<br />
Atomic <strong>PR</strong> CEO Andy Getsey,<br />
described the “Atomic style” as “lots of<br />
re-contextualization, content strategy,<br />
media relations, digital and social media,<br />
<strong>com</strong>munity outreach and video all working<br />
together.” He said such techniques<br />
were applied when the firm kicked off the<br />
year with the re-launch of Polaroid at the<br />
Consumer Electronics Show which<br />
included the participation of Lady Gaga.<br />
Another major account was the Trust<br />
for Public Land. The firm developed a<br />
high-profile campaign to “Save the<br />
Land” surrounding the iconic<br />
“Hollywood” sign that sits on a mountainside.<br />
Said Getsey: “This included a<br />
huge stunt, public affairs, press conferences,<br />
top Los Angeles political leaders,<br />
the ‘Governator,’ A-list celebrities and<br />
even the Vatican News Service plus a<br />
microsite about the Sign and Facebook,<br />
Twitter and custom applications.”<br />
Playboy’s founder Hugh Heffner gave<br />
a $1 million donation and even Tweeted<br />
about it.<br />
Existing clients expanding budgets<br />
including Verizon, Intuit/Mint.<strong>com</strong>,<br />
Living Social, Hotwire and RealityTrac.<br />
New business wins included Netgear,<br />
Citrix Online, Pioneer, LendingClub,<br />
PeopleMedia and Shopkick.<br />
The 46% jump in fees to $11.1 million<br />
required the addition of 35 staffers.<br />
Kathy Bloomgarden, co-CEO of Ruder<br />
Finn, said: “Social<br />
and digital media<br />
are now part of<br />
almost all of our <strong>PR</strong><br />
programs. Online<br />
channels have<br />
changed conversation<br />
and engagement<br />
with all stakeholder<br />
groups.<br />
“Ruder Finn<br />
Innovation Studios<br />
is a critical partner<br />
in helping us to create<br />
integrated campaigns<br />
with social<br />
media expertise<br />
deeply embedded<br />
in all of our practices.<br />
This has created<br />
more robust<br />
Richard Edelman,<br />
President and CEO<br />
of Edelman, said<br />
much of the 2010<br />
gain was from current<br />
clients expanding<br />
their budgets<br />
who “took advantage<br />
of our expanded<br />
digital offerings.”<br />
programs with larger budgets. Activism<br />
and market uncertainty have reinforced<br />
corporate reputation efforts and issues<br />
management plans.”<br />
Bloomgarden said corporate attention<br />
is focused on emerging markets such as<br />
China. RF campaigns in China for<br />
Chinese <strong>com</strong>panies and multinationals<br />
have “grown expansively,” she said.<br />
Healthcare, “non-traditional” growth<br />
Healthcare specialist WCG (formerly<br />
WeissComm Group) grew 37.6% to $37<br />
million.<br />
WCG CEO Jim Weiss cited growth in<br />
its core healthcare business as well as<br />
expansion into consumer and technology<br />
categories. “We had great strategic hires<br />
in the past year,” he said.<br />
See O’Dwyer’s rankings of top<br />
HEALTHCARE <strong>PR</strong> firms, pg. 30<br />
These included Creative/Interactive<br />
and Global Practice Leader Gail Cohen,<br />
formerly at Burson-Marsteller; Group<br />
Creative Directors Trip Hosmer from<br />
Chandler Chicco and Scott Schindler<br />
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