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FEATURE Execs put ‘Great PR Recession’ behind them By Kevin McCauley Strike up the band because the Great PR Recession is over. Economic stabilization is the name of the game for the remainder of the year as fear of a Wall Street meltdown subsides and consumers start to open their wallets. Growth lies ahead in 2011 as the private sector begins a hiring spree. WPP CEO Martin Sorrell put it best, saying “We have clearly moved from a period of staring into the abyss.” Optimists say PR stands on the cusp of a golden age, one powered by advances in technology and a deeper penetration of social media into daily life. One thing is certain: executives are glad that 2009, the worst year for PR in a quarter century, is solidly behind them. Richard Edelman, CEO of the No. 1 independent firm, says 2010 started off with a bang as first-quarter revenues are up in the “double digits.” The U.S. is especially strong for Edelman, but that hasn’t stopped the firm from tending its Asia operations. Edelman recruited Ross Rowbury, former COO of PRAP, Japan’s largest independent PR firm, to head its Japanese operation. The firm also hired H&K/Japan President Kuniko Okuwaki for the Deputy Managing Director slot. Alan VanderMolen, President of Edelman/Asia-Pacific, believes the appointments solidify Edelman’s role as a key player in the tough Japanese PR market. Margery Kraus, CEO of No. 2 independent APCO Worldwide, says the turnaround began in the fourth-quarter of 2009 with “significant new wins and account expansions.” Western Union counts as a major `09 coup as Washington, D.C.-based APCO picked up the business of the global payments provider in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States via a hotly contested competitive pitch. APCO also opened in Kuala Lumpur and began work for the Government of Malaysia to pitch its sophisticated and hitech economy as a natural location for expansion. Kraus targets growth in the rebounding financial sector as evidenced by last month’s addition of John Dudzinsky to its New York office. The 14-year veteran of Kreab Gavin Anderson and Taylor Rafferty is skilled in counseling initial public offerings, mergers/acquisitions, crises and special situations. That’s a good complement to APCO’s PA/government relations core. Cooney/Waters is among a handful of firms ranked by O’Dwyer’s to post a solid performance in 2009 as net fees at the No. 10 firm soared 18 percent to $12.3M. “We experienced robust organic growth from existing clients who continued pursuit of their long-term plans throughout the year,” said CEO Lenore Cooney. “As clients continue to place value on agency partners that have a depth of knowledge and experience in complex health and medical issues, the healthcare communications specialty will continue to grow.” Widespread PR carnage Seventy-four of the 133 firms ranked by O’Dwyer’s suffered a decline in `09 fees. Sixty-three of them registered declines of at least five percent. It was a bloodbath. Edelman, which was down two percent to $440.1M showed the smallest decline among the Top Ten firms. Text 100, the tech offering of Next 15 Group, posted the biggest decline in the group, down 22% to $48.6M. The firm is in the midst of a turnaround, according to Next 15 CEO Tim Dyson. He reported April 26 that overall revenues advanced two percent during the six-month period ended Jan. 31. “The business has now recovered to prerecession revenue levels and is headed in a positive direction. Given current trading, the board is confident that we will meet our targets, which would result in a record year for the group,” said Dyson. Other decliners in the Top Ten are Schwartz Communications (-19.8% to $24.5M), ICR (-16% to $22M), APCO (- 10.8% to $100.3M), Gibbs & Soell (-12% to $16.9M), Regan Communications (- 9.0% to $19.9M) and Ruder Finn (-7.2% to $89.1M). Allison forges ahead San Francisco’s Allison & Partners partnered with Cooney to show the only gains in the Top Ten category. Scott Allison enjoyed a 12.1% jump in fees to $14.7M. He believes the firm’s positioning as an entrepreneurial shop that “provides clients with a constant influx of fresh ideas that uncover new business opportunities” Atomic PR handles a Polaroid tie-in with Lady Gaga. proved to be a blessing in the lean 2009 economy. Clients were looking for “less bureaucracy and a focus on quantifiable results.” Allison reports growth across its consumer, technology and healthcare sectors. The firm picked up business from L’Oreal USA, Johnny Rocket’s and the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego and more work from long-term clients including Best Western (NASCAR and Jonas Brothers promotion), Progressive Insurance and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. Healthcare was buoyed by continued work from PhRMA and the Healthcare Leadership Council, plus new clients including GE Healthcare, Healthways, and The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The year closed out with a significant public health win, California Health Department’s California Anti-Tobacco campaign. On the technology front, Allison scored a win with Samsung Information Technology Division and increased work from Trend Micro and MagTek and social network platform Ning. Allison says the firm made significant executive moves during the past year. It named Brian Feldman, General Manager in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., Partner; added Tom Biro from MTV to head its new Seattle office; Cathy Planchard as General Continued on next page 28 MAY 2010 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM
Manager of Phoenix office; and Matthew Della Croce to shore up its corporate communications practice as Managing Director. Atomic Poised for breakthrough Atomic PR posted a 10 percent drop in `09 to $6.5M, but CEO Andy Getsey believes his San Francisco shop is poised for a breakthrough. “From a revenue standpoint, 2009 was a lackluster year for Atomic,” said Getsey, “but we used the time to focus on our current client programs and relationships, add functionality to our analytics platform — ComContext — especially the strategic planning module, and expand into Europe, which we accomplished with a joint venture outside Scott Allison, the U.S. with U.K.- President and CEO, based Huntsworth. Allison & Partners We think it was time well-spent.” Getsey says Atomic kicked off 2010 with a “string of new account wins for brands large (Polaroid and its tie-in with Lady Gaga) and small, a very strong pipeline of inbound inquiries and referrals, and a steady stream of contacts from experienced PR and social media pros interested in jobs at Atomic.” He is excited by the “burst of recognition from top PR industry publications, like O’Dwyers,” which ranked it No. 7 among hi-tech firms. “After working so hard to explain the power of our analytics-driven, multi-channel model for our first six years or so, it’s a nice change to have potential clients and teammates coming to us, actively looking for an alternative to the opinion- and relationship-centric approach followed by the rest of the industry. So across the board, it’s shaping up to be a breakthrough year for Atomic,” said Getsey. Rx, Feds propel Crosby Crosby Marketing Communications (Annapolis) posted a solid 5.2% increase in growth to $8.6M, a performance that CEO Ray Crosby lauds in the down economy. “To grow more than 5% in 2009 was a real accomplishment,” he said. “As always, we focused most of our attention on client retention and being a highly valued extension of our client’s marketing team. “Also, our focus on healthcare and federal agencies created some strong growth opportunities. We launched major initiatives for the U.S. Department of Education, Social Security Administration, Department of Agriculture, Ameritox and St. Joseph Medical Center,” he added. Crosby has been busy on the digital front, adding Sven Reigle as its interactive project manager to manage online media campaigns of the Social Security Administration, Ameritox, College.gov and Catholic Relief Services. Reigle joined from the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C., where he led interactive campaigns that bolster fundraising and strategic partnerships. Crosby expects the addition of Reigle will “provide clients with strong analytics that can drive a more effective return on investment.” Feintuch ready for ‘reawakening’ Henry Feintuch, who founded his shop during the depths of the recession, debuted on O’Dwyer’s list in the 129 slot with fees of $502,555. He calls the last two years in PR a period of “anticipation and reaction.” Feintuch explains: “As the likelihood of a strong downturn loomed in the second half of 2008, RFPs and budgets dried up and the market chilled significantly. Corporate PR budgets began their freeze or were killed entirely. Hiring throughout the sector slowed and everyone began the guessing game of how tight things might become.” The KCSA alumnus now believes the “general sentiment appears to be that the market has bottomed out and is slowly reawakening, though most companies continued to delay their hiring and agency budget lines for solid proof that the recession was waning.” He is highly optimistic about the prospects for the PR market in the secondhalf. “Start-ups are re-emerging and RFPs are beginning to flow with greater regularity. New business opportunities are increasing, though budgets appear to remain constrained. Recruiters — those that survived — are hearing their phones ring again as they work to help replenish decimated ranks.” Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy may take issue with Feintuch’s “small is better” line. The Frenchman turned in a strong first-quarter performance at the Raymond Crosby, President of Crosby Marketing Communications world’s No. 4 ad/PR conglom, sparked in part by its MS&L Group unit. Levy boasts that Publicis’ eight percent rise in revenues is but a “base” to build on. In other words, watch out, Henry. MAY 2010 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 29
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Page 22: REPORT Experts call blog disclosure
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