Winner: APCO Worldwide
The Agency:
Founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, APCO Worldwide has since grown into its own, now employing a staff of more than 500 people working in 26
offices worldwide.
Differentiating Factors:
APCO recruits and retains top industry talent by offering incentives that don't come along with most job descriptions, including up to four weeks for employees to visit other
offices, a 24/7, free fitness facility onsite and a performance-based incentive program.
Happy Employees = Happy Clients:
APCO can thank its employees' commitment to clients for the agency's perennial success, but surely their untraditional structure is a contributing factor as well. The agency
operates more like a consultancy than a PR firm, thus offering clients strategic insight and being known by clients as "the place we come when we cannot afford to fail."
Big Wins:
Among the major achievements of the
past year:
- The group's work with United Airlines to apply for a nonstop flight to China's restricted market. Despite being a long shot, the team delivered the desired result in the
end thanks to coalition building, grassroots outreach, online advocacy and aggressive media relations.
- A brand marketing campaign to promote APCO Foreign Service alumni's work in business diplomacy. Article placements, advertisements, online promotions and new brochures led up
to a successful event at Harvard University, where team members launched a study conducted by the agency's research experts. Capitol Hill receptions for foreign dignitaries, book
signings for APCO's published staff members and roundtables in its offices around the world followed.
Successes like these, coupled with the agency's "glocal" (global + local) business approach, make APCO stand out in the crowd. Plus, its participation in goodwill
organizations such as the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Harvard Malaria Initiative keep employees tuned in to the heart of the matter. PRN
Honorable Mentions for Large PR Firm of the Year
PORTER NOVELLI, PORTER NOVELLI-LEADING THE CLIENT SERVICE REVOLUTION -- With worldwide service that seeks to enhance its clients' image on a global scale, Porter Novelli has
further enhanced its offerings by taking a holistic, media-neutral stance. By concentrating the specific needs of its clients and their stakeholders when developing communications
strategies, its tactics have a much broader influence than many of its competitors.
FLEISHMAN-HILLARD -- The year 2006 was a banner one for Fleishman-Hillard: Not only did it expand its global network into India, opening an office in Mumbai, but the firm also
won PRSA's highest honor at the 2007 Silver Anvil awards for its pro bono work on PROJECT E.R.A.S.E., begun the previous year. The E.R.A.S.E. effort tackles the deep divide in
asthma care for children in underprivileged neighborhoods, bringing awareness to the issue and subsequently delivering necessary medical care. This is just one initiative that
makes the communications and marketing firm a noteworthy industry leader.
KETCHUM -- Ketchum has maintained its position as a leader in the communications industry through its award-winning campaigns for clients, including a re-branding initiative
for Kodak and a marketing communications effort for Hyundia, both in 2006. Plus, the agency is a leader in corporate citizenship, being the first agency to join the United
National Global Compact - an international initiative to make businesses a solution to the challenges brought on by globalization.