PR Agencies

A sobering thought as we enter 2019–most Fortune 1000 executives don’t have confidence in their company’s ability to respond well to disruption or change. APCO Worldwide’s research of 527 of these executives lead it to join forces with three other PR consultancies to help companies become more agile. They believe agile and curious firms are better able to respond to change.

Communicators pointed to four major tactics that they have successfully implemented to earn trust, get their more difficult clients in the press, open their minds to spend, and change their opinions of the value that PR can bring to business.

For many communicators, September is the traditional kick-off for budget season. With this in mind, we departed from our usual roundtable format of a single question and asked senior communicators to discuss budget best practices and budget priorities and expectations for 2019.

A pair of major PR firms are taking a page from the playbook of consulting firms, offering clients easier paths to a variety of expertise. Weber Shandwick is launching a unit that will consult to brands about corporate culture. On its 90th birthday Ketchum is promising to encircle clients with 14 industrial specialities as well as the traditional PR communications offerings.

Created early in March, global communications agency Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) unveiled its Asia-Pacific leaders as we went to press. Matt Stafford, president, Asia Pacific, BCW, said the merged firm’s Asia market leaders are in place and “most of our teams have already begun to move into the same office.”

With International Woman’s Day approaching this week and Women’s History Month already here it was heartening to see several PR firms being recognized for progressive policies toward women. Both FleishmanHillard and Edelman were named to the National Association of Female Executives’ (NAFE) list of top companies for women. Still, it’s clear much more progress is warranted.

Created last week, Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) named its regional leaders as we went to press. For N America, Chris Foster becomes president, N America, BCW. Previously he was EVP, global business.

There is good news and bad news in this latest PR Council survey of its roughly 100 member firms. First, the good news: 66% of those who replied said revenue for 2017 is ahead of 2016 and that projections are on target or better than first forecast. The not-so-good news is that management consultancies want to eat PR’s lunch.

Aflac is among the most diverse companies in America. In fact, its workforce is comprised of a high percentage of both women (67 percent) and minorities (40 percent). In addition to employer-sponsored health care benefits… Continued

At the heart of Adobe’s core values lies the belief that groundbreaking ideas come from everywhere in the company and that Adobe’s people are its greatest asset. The company offers a variety of benefits to… Continued