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April 28, 2008 11 17 Issue of PRWeek

Agency

Stars need substance in public affairs initiatives

When agencies help their consumer-facing companies select a celebrity spokesperson to promote a product or event, all that's usually required is smooth skin or an ...

Launch Pad

AHRQ dresses up campaign to buoy men's healthcare acumen

The effort aims to make men more savvy healthcare consumers and get them into the doctor's office more often. The most recently released AHRQ Medical ...

Media

'Health' brings flowers into focus

Who is your client and what are its media goals?

Journalist Q&A

Interview: Sharon King Hoge

Sharon King Hoge, the editor-in-chief of Verdant magazine, talks to PRWeek about her PR and journalism experience, as well as the external factors that are ...

Fact File

Success in viral marketing is a hit-or-miss proposition

A video of Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding car while wearing Nike's new Hyperdunk shoes garnered more than 2.5 million views on YouTube

Editorial

Media does a disservice with lack of investigating

Viewers already know not to believe everything they see on TV, but a recent investigation by The New York Times will give them more reason ...

PRWeek Column

Proper disclosure has to be more than revenue numbers

The 2008 Agency Business Report found that the PR industry had another successful year. These gains can be attributed, at least in part, to increased ...

Guest Column

Penn's niche messaging may have hurt Clinton the most

Mark Penn needs no introduction. Worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller and former chief strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, he has been making a lot ...

Op-Ed

Citizen journalism affects nonprofits

Profound changes in the way that advocacy groups interact with mainstream media outlets is on the horizon, yet most organizations have not restructured to take ...

Feature

Poised for challenge

Thanks to the combination of digital work and increased global assignments, PR's recent momentum continued in 2007. However, economic uncertainties cloud the future.

Campaign

Hotel Sax gets celebrity inspired

When the House of Blues Hotel in Chicago came under new management, the executives saw the chance to rebrand. With an upscale look and a ...

AltaOne uses curiosity to create buzz about opening

Bank branch openings typically don't grab attention. So when AltaOne Federal Credit Union was expanding into Bakersfield, CA, it wanted to intrigue residents. "We wanted ...

Eye-Fi targets tech-savvy buyers with new product

Amid the crowded electronics market, Red Consultancy launched Eye-Fi, a wireless memory card for cameras that automatically transfers photographs to Web sites and computers, to ...

Media Analysis

News sites gain from citizen journalism

Since YouTube caught the public's imagination in 2005, news organizations have attempted to duplicate that same style of user-generated, on-the-spot coverage that gained prominence during ...

2008 Agency Business Report

Burson-Marsteller-The Counselor

The firm's 2007 growth came mainly from the expansion of work with existing clients, with the latter half of the year bringing in a lot ...

Edelman-The Futurist

Digital became a focus in 2007, evidenced by the firm's decision to establish a global digital practice, merging its three separate entities - EIS (Edelman ...

Fleishman-Hillard-The Titan

Fleishman began a number of initiatives in 2007, including "Switched On," which is set to add and integrate digital capabilities into all client work and ...

Hill & Knowlton-The Ambassador

The agency claims that revenue and growth exceeded expectations by nearly double in 2007, in what Taaffe characterized as "just a great all-around year."

Ogilvy PR Worldwide-Ogilvy PR Worldwide

Overall, Ogilvy had a "smashing year," says global CEO Marcia Silverman, with things going really well in the US as well as Asia, and the ...

Weber Shandwick-The Heavyweight

CEO Harris Diamond and president Andy Polansky say the agency is currently seeing robust hiring and historically unprecedented revenue growth. The firm's revenue figures reflect ...

FD/FD Dittus Communications

Growth at the firm was dominated by energy issues - from renewable energy to oil and gas to research in the nuclear power industry - ...

GCI Group

GCI experienced significant growth in its major practice area, healthcare.

GolinHarris

Golin won numerous awards during 2007, including PRWeek's Large Agency of the Year.

Manning Selvage & Lee

MS&L had its best year ever with a strong margin performance of 19% that placed it second among all parts of Publicis Groupe, says global ...

MWW Group

MWW had one of its best years ever in 2007, maintaining a high staff retention rate and gaining business across the globe.

OutCast Communications

Chosen as PRWeek's 2008 Midsize Agency of the Year, OutCast has built a client roster of companies that are on the cusp of trends and ...

Porter Novelli

"We'd really like to see the addition of significant business in CSR going forward, [as well as] take advantage of some of the new talent ...

Qorvis Communications

Managing partner Michael Petruzzello says one of Qorvis' biggest 2007 initiatives was its expansion into advertising.

Taylor

Taylor had 22 client partners in 2007, a significant decrease from 71 three years before.

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

WE had long been associated with its powerhouse client Microsoft, but in 2007 the firm expanded its reputation and became known as a worldwide communicator.

WeissComm Partners

The firm met the goals outlined in its 2006 PRWeek Agency Business Report profile: To grow the pharma and device business and experience continued biotech ...

5W Public Relations

5W boasts high employee-retention rates.

Allison & Partners

Since its 2001 launch, diversification has been a primary focus for the agency.

Airfoil Public Relations

Tyler spent much of the last two years in California launching the new office.

Atomic Public Relations

The firm passed the significant $5 million milestone in 2007, prompting Getsey to focus on ensuring it was prepared for more growth by hiring additional ...

Barkley Public Relations

Barkley PR considered 2007 a watershed year for its cause branding work after decades of involvement.

Brodeur

Last year the agency experienced increased demand for communications surrounding mergers and acquisitions, and executive transitions.

Bite Communications

The agency secured a five-year contract with Sun Microsystems and expanded its relationship with AMD.

Capstrat

CEO Ken Eudy says interactive communications is a large and growing component of the firm's work, with the company being particularly proud of the Internet ...

Carmichael Lynch Spong

CLS' headquarters moved to an eco-friendly building.

CJP Communications

The firm saw huge growth in 2007 - 10% organic and 30% from new business.

Chandler Chicco Agency

Chandler says the acquisition complements the agency, strengthens it globally, and generates business opportunities.

CKPR

CKPR aims to become the thought-leader in integrated brand solutions.

Coyne Public Relations

Coyne PR's primary goal for 2008 is to increase revenue by 25%.

Cohn & Wolfe

Though CEO Donna Imperato thinks client budgets were "a bit smaller," she's pleased with 2007, as C&W picked up "great brands" and more global work.

Cone

President Jens Bang Bang is "cautiously optimistic," noting Q1 2008 has been "excellent." Organic growth continues, and "new business is still good," he says.

DKC

DKC produced higher-than-expected growth, and has increased the number of clients with national business models.

Jackson Spalding

JS experienced tremendous growth in the past year, which Bo Spalding attributes to the company's eclectic client mix.

Dorland Global Public Relations

"We [began] the year with the acquisition [by Huntsworth], which is going well," says president Nancy Bacher Long. "We now have our bona fide global ...

Euro RSCG Worldwide PR

In combining Euro Life with Magnet, Euro RSCG Worldwide focused on a model of authentic integration and became a more significant offer, says Lisa Sepulveda, ...

The Jeffrey Group

The firm turns 15 in 2008. Ortega sees organic growth and new-business wins continuing. Ortega, who says he spends 90% or more of his time ...

Marina Maher Communications

CEO and president Marina Maher says 2007 was a year of growth - both in business and in employees. "We invest a lot and keep ...

Agency Business Report: Additional questionnaires

The following are questionnaires submitted by agencies not profiled in the Agency Business Report, including Eastwick Communications, French/West/Vaughan, Lewis PR, Padilla Speer Beardsley, Racepoint Group, ...

Kaplow

With continued focus on organic growth, Kaplow saw clients more fully integrate the agency into their marketing functions, says Liz Kaplow, founder and CEO. "We ...

Makovsky & Company

The firm saw both top- and bottom-line growth this past year, with 80% attributed to new business and 20% to organic growth. CEO Ken Makovsky ...

PainePR

Paine celebrated its 22nd year in business in 2007. The agency considers itself a "hybrid firm with PR plus," according to CEO Daryl McCullough, as ...

Peppercom

Co-founder and managing partner Steve Cody credits much of the agency's 2007 financial success to employee programs, such as the job swap between junior and ...

rbb Public Relations

"We've really tried to get in deeper with our current clients, and that's represented and validated by the fact that we've had so many of ...

Ruder Finn

Although RF reported a drop in both US and global revenues, it had a solid fall and winter, doubling the number of million-dollar accounts held ...

Schwartz Communications

The agency had one of its strongest new business months in March of 2008, CEO Steve Schwartz says. "The fastest-growing segment in our business last ...

Text 100

Last year, Text rebranded itself as a global PR agency, rather than just a tech PR firm.

Continual growth spurs confidence

The PR industry was stronger than ever in 2007, as many firms grew consistently across practice areas and without significant numbers of acquisitions to bolster ...

News Analysis

Blame game is off the ground

Media scrutiny of the airlines and the FAA amid the ongoing industry crisis has pitted one against the other in a messaging battle.

Corporate Profile

Group aims to change the housing stigma

The National Association of Home Builders works to portray the industry positively in a 'meltdown'

Media Roundup

Public interest in religion remains strong

The Pope's visit to the US, combined with the major presidential candidates being quizzed on faith-related issues, has put religion coverage front and center in ...

Focus

Perfect harmony

The New York Philharmonic's historic trip to North Korea required an extraordinary level of coordination by the comms team

Technique

Getting the right message to the press

Members of the C-suite aren't the only ones who can benefit from media training

Toolbox

How PR pros help reporters, viral marketing tips, more

How can PR pros help reporters find story ideas?

Expert Advice

I was just promoted to manager, but I have no related training. How do I learn to manage well?

Being a manager is often said to be one of the most difficult but rewarding professional roles.

Inside Information

Radio stations offer easy access to a target audience

With all the possibilities that modern media offers for communicating a message, PR pros shouldn't forget about one of the simplest means of outreach: terrestrial ...