Weber Shandwick
Encyclopedia
Weber Shandwick is a public relations
firm.
Chaired by Jack Leslie, its global CEO is Harris Diamond. Harris Diamond was just honored as the PR Agency Executive of the Decade by the Holmes Report. Its president is Andy Polansky. UK CEO Colin Byrne was hired by Peter Mandelson
to advise UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
during the 1997 and 2001 general elections.
In 2006, Weber Shandwick was named Large PR Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.), European Consultancy of the Year (The Holmes Report) and Network of the Year (Asia Pacific PR Awards). The firm also won the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations for three consecutive years, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In the Holmes Report's Best Agency to Work For study, Weber Shandwick scored the highest marks of any of the large, publicly-traded, full-service agencies. In 2007, Weber Shandwick received the highest client-satisfaction honors in the 2007 Agency Excellence Survey by PRWeek U.S. PRWeek U.S. referred to Weber Shandwick as the "blue chip" in its April 23, 2007 agency business report. In 2008, they won Large PR Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.). In 2009, The Holmes Report awarded Weber Shandwick with Global Agency of the Year (The Holmes Report, SABRE Awards). PRWeek awarded Weber Shandwick with its first annual Global Agency of the Year award (2009). Weber Shandwick was also recognized as PRWeek’s 2009 Global Agency Report Card Gold Medal Winner. As the year 2009 ended, Weber Shandwick was named one of the agencies of the decade by Advertising Age
. However, Weber Shandwick in the same year lost its third Brussels CEO within 5 years.The 2007 Holmes Agency Report, Paul Holmes wrote: "With no sign of complacency and probably the best management team in the business, there's no reason why the firm should relinquish its current position to anyone anytime soon."
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
firm.
History
Weber Shandwick is a formation of three previous companies:- The Weber Group - Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1987, leveraging emerging technologies such as the mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
and the internetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
into the world of communications, which made the company a top 10 PR firm in less than a decade - Shandwick International - founded in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1974 by Lord Chadlington, 25 years later it had grown to become the largest public relations agency in the UK, and a worldwide force with a major presence in both Europe and Asia Pacific - BSMG Worldwide - merged with Weber Shandwick in 2001. The company dates back to 1921, with the founding of the Bozell & Jacobs advertising and public relations agency in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. Bozell later acquired Sawyer Miller Group – a leading political consulting firm – and applied its campaign-based disciplines to the world of advocacy on behalf of brands, ideas and issues
Present
Now a division of Interpublic Group, NYSE: IPG, Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 77 markets around the world. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, corporate/financial and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility.Chaired by Jack Leslie, its global CEO is Harris Diamond. Harris Diamond was just honored as the PR Agency Executive of the Decade by the Holmes Report. Its president is Andy Polansky. UK CEO Colin Byrne was hired by Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
to advise UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
during the 1997 and 2001 general elections.
In 2006, Weber Shandwick was named Large PR Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.), European Consultancy of the Year (The Holmes Report) and Network of the Year (Asia Pacific PR Awards). The firm also won the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations for three consecutive years, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In the Holmes Report's Best Agency to Work For study, Weber Shandwick scored the highest marks of any of the large, publicly-traded, full-service agencies. In 2007, Weber Shandwick received the highest client-satisfaction honors in the 2007 Agency Excellence Survey by PRWeek U.S. PRWeek U.S. referred to Weber Shandwick as the "blue chip" in its April 23, 2007 agency business report. In 2008, they won Large PR Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.). In 2009, The Holmes Report awarded Weber Shandwick with Global Agency of the Year (The Holmes Report, SABRE Awards). PRWeek awarded Weber Shandwick with its first annual Global Agency of the Year award (2009). Weber Shandwick was also recognized as PRWeek’s 2009 Global Agency Report Card Gold Medal Winner. As the year 2009 ended, Weber Shandwick was named one of the agencies of the decade by Advertising Age
Advertising Age
Advertising Age is a magazine, delivering news, analysis and data on marketing and media. The magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930...
. However, Weber Shandwick in the same year lost its third Brussels CEO within 5 years.The 2007 Holmes Agency Report, Paul Holmes wrote: "With no sign of complacency and probably the best management team in the business, there's no reason why the firm should relinquish its current position to anyone anytime soon."
Trivia
- Weber Shandwick is P&G's largest public relationsPublic relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
agency in China. - Weber Shandwick is recognized by PRWeek as the Global Agency of the year in 2009.
- Weber Shandwick is also chosen by the Holmes Report as one of the best 30 PR agencies to work for in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Clients
Weber Shandwick's clients include many Global Fortune 500 companies. Notable clients include the following:- P&G (Crest, PantenePantenePantene is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1947 by Hoffman-LaRoche of Switzerland, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient...
, SK-IISK-IISK-II, is a Procter & Gamble Beauty brand, launched since 1980 in Japan. SK-II is often considered one of the most expensive beauty brands in the world.- History :...
) - MasterCardMasterCardMastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
- HoneywellHoneywellHoneywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
- GoodyearGoodyear Tire and Rubber CompanyThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
- BayerBayerBayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
- PfizerPfizerPfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
- KraftKraft FoodsKraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
- General MotorsGeneral MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
- GileadGileadIn the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
- MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
- GenentechGenentechGenentech Inc., or Genetic Engineering Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology corporation, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. Trailing the founding of Cetus by five years, it was an important step in the evolution of the biotechnology industry...
- NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
- NespressoNespressoNespresso is the brand name of Nestlé Nespresso S.A., an operating unit of the Nestlé Group based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso from special capsules containing ground coffee.- History :...
- ElectroluxElectroluxThe Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
- MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
- UnisysUnisysUnisys Corporation , headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware, is a long established business whose core products now involves computing and networking.-History:...
- SamsungSamsungThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
- Suntech
- Verizon
External links
- Global Website
- UK Website
- Alber & Geiger Web site