May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com

from Deutsch; Consumer Practice
Director Vicky Lewko from CarryOn PR,
and Chief People Officer Laurie Torres
from Juniper Networks, he said.
The firm added about 20 staffers to its
interactive and social media practice for a
total of more than 40 professionals.
Aaron Strout, who is writing the book,
“Location Based
Martketing for
Dummies,” joined
WCG this month as
Social Media
Group Director.
Weiss says he’s
aiming for the $45
million mark in
2011 which will be
Ruder Finn Co-CEO
Kathy Bloomgarden
said social and digital
media are now part of
almost all of the firm’s
PR programs.
the tenth anniversary
of the firm he
founded.
APCO Worldwide,
the second largest
independent firm
on O’Dwyer’s
rankings, added
13.1% to its fees for a total of $113.4 million.
Margery Kraus, CEO of APCO, said
the firm’s “entire business” grew in all
geographic sectors and in many industry
categories. She attributed the growth to
“the changing global landscape and convergence
of stakeholder groups in nontraditional
ways, which plays to APCO’s
unique heritage as a company and our
integrated approach to client opportunities
and challenges.”
New initiatives that drew interest from
clients included Global Political
Strategies, the firm’s executive advisory
service; Return on Reputation Indicator, a
research-based management tool that
takes a “broader, more holistic, 360degree
view” of reputation, and Social
EQ, a new model to assess the effectiveness
of a company’s social media efforts
MWW joins list at no. 7
MWW Group came on the list for the
first time since its acquisition by
Interpublic, weighing in at $34.7 million
and No. 7. It bought itself back in
January.
Michael Kempner, CEO of MWW
Group, who engineered a management
buyout after a decade of ownership by the
ad/PR conglomerate, said he expects the
independence will “unleash the talent,
creativity and spirit” of the firm which is
“returning to its roots as a nimble strategic
management consultancy.”
The firm has 184 staffers in East
Rutherford, N.J., New York City,
Trenton, Washington, D.C., Chicago,
Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Seattle and London.
Another newcomer to the O’Dwyer
rankings is Beckerman, handling technology,
healthcare, consumer and other practice
areas, which has the fifth biggest gain
in the top 50 — up 32% to $6.1 million.
Norwalk, Conn.-based financial specialist
ICR spurted 20% to $26.5 million
as it added a net of 63 new clients.
ICR CEO Tom Ryan said that “as companies
work through the volatility of the
current environment, they are increasingly
realizing that financial communications
is a major determinant of equity
value, and therefore have sought out
ICR’s expert counsel.”
“Revenues rebounded in 2010 (they
were down 16% in 2009) and we rationalized
expenses in 2009,” said Ryan,
resulting in last year being a “great year
for the firm” and 2011 starting off “very
strong.
See O’Dwyer’s rankings of top
FINANCIAL PR firms, pg. 29
Text 100, part of the Next Fifteen
Communications Group, was the only PR
operation in the top ten showing a decline
— off 3.9% to $46.7 million.
CEO Aedhmar Hynes said that revenues
are up 20% since last August and more than
40 staffers have been hired.
She sees “lots of growth” in digital communications
and social media. “Solid
growth,” she said, is coming from Asia and
North America.
Coyne up 32%
Third biggest gainer in the top 25 was
Coyne Public Relations, Parsippany, N.J.,
up 32% to $16 million.
CEO Tom Coyne said there was in-house
growth as well as new business in its dozen
practice areas.
“Star performer,” he said, was the pet
group which includes Milk-Bone, 9Lives,
Snausages, Meow Mix, Arm & Hammer
cat litter and Petopia.com. Billings in the
group were up 165%.
Gaining 100% in fees was Coyne’s sport
group, which includes the National
Football League, Campbell Soup, U.S.
Tennis Assn., Harlem Globetrotters,
NASCAR, and U.S. Olympic Committee.
A highlight of the year was the launch of
an iTune app for the Coyne PR Hot Sheet.
“It pays tribute to the best in social media
and the most thought-provoking stories of
the week,” he said.
F/W/V takes high-profile accounts
Raleigh-based French/West/Vaughan
boosted fees 18% to $13.6 million partly on
its work for two high-profile accounts —
the rehabilitation of Philadelphia Eagles
quarterback Michael Vick, whose dogfighting
activities earned him time in a fed-
eral prison, and damage control for longtime
client Wrangler after Vikings quarterback
and company spokesperson Brett
Favre was accused of sending improper
photographs to a woman.
Expanding accounts included VP Corp.,
parent of Wrangler, and Dey
Pharmaceutical. New business wins included
U.S. Polo Assn.,
Focus Brand’s Moe’s
Southwest Grill
restaurant chain, and
Swiss energy company
ABB.
F/W/V also has
offices in New York
and Tampa and
plans a Los Angeles
office in the spring.
An office in Dallas
was added last year.
Zeno Group, sister
company of
Edelman, was one
of the leading gainers
in the top 25 by
growing 24% to
$12.4 million.
CEO Barby
Siegel attributes growth to “our highly
client-centric, collaborative model that
delivers insight-driven strategy, unexpected
creative, and hands-on involvement
from our highly experienced staffers.”
Growth has come from both current and
new clients in consumer, corporate, healthcare
and technology. “Strong and expanding
social media capabilities is integral to
all we do,” she said.
Siegel also cited the
firm’s “top tier, bestin-class
talent” that
draws clients to the
firm.
“There is a real
appetite in the marketplace
for an
agency of our size,
scale and approach
— big, ‘challenger’
thinking in a nimble,
flexible environment
— enabling us
to move fast on
behalf of our
clients,” she said.
Alan Soucy, CEO
of Sparkpr, San
Francisco, which
grew 22% to $8.8
APCO CEO Margery
Kraus attributed her
firm’s growth in all
geographic sectors to
“the changing global
landscape and convergence
of stakeholder
groups in nontraditional
ways.”
ICR CEO Tom Ryan
said financial companies
have increasingly
sought out his
firm’s expert counsel,
as they realize
“that financial communications
is a
major determinant of
equity value.”
million, said 2010 was the tenth straight
year of revenue growth. “Our roots are
firmly planted in Silicon Valley,” he said.
Continued on page 13
MAY 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 11