Every year, PRWeek runs global league tables, which would go some way towards confirming how far the industry has been affected by worldwide issues. However, due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that prevents PR companies owned by Omnicom, Interpublic, WPP, Grey, Havas and Publicis from releasing figures, we have been unable to publish global rankings this year.
Thus, PRWeek asked the biggest players in the industry, the top 25 from last year's global rankings, plus smaller firms with international reach, such as Gibbs & Soell and The Jeffrey Group, to submit information on their top international accounts and which regions they operate out of, to determine whether the industry is still operating across continents.
However, out of the 19 agencies that did submit global information, only 42 per cent could disclose whether international revenues fell or grew, and out of those, only half reported a rise in the last 12 months.
"Clients are forcing agencies to ensure whatever activity we undertake is bringing value to the bottom line," says Gibbs & Soell president and chief executive Cos Malozzi. "Our focus has been much more on customer-directed communications."
While a number of firms report that Sars has had a detrimental impact on their business in Asia, Ogilvy Public Relations chief executive Marcia Silverman says the region is still an active one for the firm, with Intelsat and Jones Day among the clients the agency works for in Asia. Elsewhere, Weber Shandwick CEO Harris Diamond says that despite Germany being a problematic area for growth, Europe, overall, seems strong.
There are pockets of optimism in sectors across the globe, namely in healthcare, while in some regions the tech and financial sectors are showing encouraging signs of new life. Agencies agree that finding the right people to staff regional offices is one of the most difficult, but crucial, keys to success. Local hires, and heightened sensitivity to regional differences, is imperative.
Most firms agree it is essential to get local leadership in place as quickly as possible, but it is also important to have the right depth of experience for each market. Global business may not be exactly booming, but there is an underlying optimism.
United States
The US may have an international reputation for insularity, but its PR brands constantly strive for greater understanding of the markets in which they operate. This is particularly important now, as anti-American sentiment is increasingly problematic for companies following the war in Iraq.
"To deliver across cultures seamlessly relies on agencies understanding cultural differences, and involving local partners in business development," explains Porter Novelli CEO Helen Ostrowski. At the same time, the pressure on agencies to run efficient businesses globally - and demonstrate success to clients - has never been greater.
"While the pace of business consolidation has slowed, it has not stopped," says Ketchum CEO Ray Kotcher. He points out that communications continues to grow as an increasingly powerful entity across borders, even if global business is relatively quiet.
The business environment in the US has been characterised by an increase in project work, declining budgets and fierce competition for accounts of all sizes - the combined result of continued economic malaise. Hewlett-Packard's global consolidation of its PR business, which took place after the company's merger with Compaq, was the most high-profile review of 2002.
The Dupont consolidation, out of which Ogilvy & Mather and its sister units, including Ogilvy PR, emerged victorious, was noted mainly for the central role of procurement in the process. Pricing, domestically and internationally, continues to be a major issue.
Most consultancies agree they are under greater pressure to prove their ability to execute across markets. That means every level of account management has to be carefully monitored, from brainstorming to billings. "On both sides of the house, for global clients it's very important to be able to demonstrate prowess," says Weber Shandwick chief executive Harris Diamond.
Even the largest firms work with affiliates in some markets. "Unless a company or a location gives us something that adds value to the client, we don't necessarily need wholly-owned offices in every location," says Burson-Marsteller CEO Chris Komisarjevsky.
For smaller international players, putting programmes into operation and demonstrating tactical ability is crucial. "The issues that may cause difficulty are the simple things, such as ensuring you have good spokespeople in all the markets," says The Hoffman Agency CEO Lou Hoffman.
Middle-East/Africa
In marked contrast with much of the rest of the world, IT PR in the Middle East continues to boom. Moreover, there is as much demand from local companies as from multinationals. "Consumer PR is growing rapidly, but healthcare and corporate PR are still lagging behind considerably," says Impact Porter Novelli managing director Pierre Azzam.
The region has witnessed the launch of many small local PR agencies, but Azzam says this has led to 'copycat' strategies delivered without the knowledge, experience or pedigree of established global or regional operators. As a result, quality, pricing and end results fluctuate wildly.
Media relations is by far the most popular form of PR in the Middle East, but there are issues relating to media transparency in certain territories, where editorial is tied heavily into advertising. There are, in addition, specific issues for US multinational clients, with protests ranging from boycott calls against US companies or email virus attacks against them.
In South Africa, meanwhile, PR is no longer seen as an 'add-on', but as a tool to be employed and integrated into other business activities at planning stage.
"Over the past few years, there has been a trend towards niche PR, where clients demand their PR teams are experts in particular areas, such as healthcare or IT," says GCI South Africa managing director Robyn de Villiers.
Outside South Africa, PR is still at a formative stage in sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of Nigeria and Kenya. In June, Hill & Knowlton signed an exclusive affiliation agreement with a Nigerian agency, JSP Corporate Communications. Clients at the Lagos-based agency include Coca-Cola and FedEx.
Europe
As squeezed budgets and cost-conscious clients become more prevalent across the globe, the European PR industry has inevitably felt the effect.
Issues such as stock market volatility and the recent Iraq war have shaken the market's confidence. This is married with a low or static GDP growth within the major European economies over the last year.
"The reality, and this probably applies to the whole of Europe, is that the marketplace is tough - mainly because it's unpredictable," points out Porter Novelli Europe CEO Neil Backwith. "There's not a huge amount of confidence being shown by clients. It's a picture of change, rather than a picture of depression, and while it's not all grim, the focus is very short term. Clients want to see results now rather than next year."
Another trend arising from slashed budgets is clients' global consolidation of PR accounts. Business has also grown on the back of clients expanding geographically over the last 12 months. While Edelman describes global revenues as flat for its fiscal year, business has increased because of client expansion into new markets and sectors. The agency's clients Johnson & Johnson, Samsung and Microsoft expanded from the US into both Europe and Asia.
PR networks across Europe are also reporting the current economic climate has had a successful impact on them. Kinross & Render executive chairman Sara Render, also a board director of independent agency network ECCO, says networks are getting a chance to work with brands that would have probably not looked any further than the top three multinationals if the economic climate had been booming.
While the general outlook for Europe is not particularly bright, healthcare, once again, proved to be the most resilient sector throughout the continent.
FMCG and consumer durables marketing PR have also proved to be fairly resilient across Europe, as consumer confidence remains surprisingly buoyant.
All eyes are on EU enlargement next year, when member states will grow from 15 to 25 with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia all joining.
The enlargement could be a catalyst for growth, as accession to the single market is likely to stimulate trade across the region. There should also be a lot of work explaining what EU accession will mean, claims GCI Europe central and eastern Europe regional director Katerina Wheeler. The agency opened an office in Slovenia last year, and Wheeler believes there will be solid growth across the Balkans, where corporate and healthcare PR are doing well.
In almost every market across the Continent, there is an outlook of uncertainty, but the face of Europe is changing. The question on everyone's minds is whether these changes will result in a significant upturn in PR business throughout Europe over the next couple of years.
US reporting by Julia Hood, MEA by Rob Gray and Europe by Mark Johnson and Rob Gray
Brodeur Worldwide
HQ
Boston
Biggest Global Accounts
Avent, IBM, Philips Electronics*, WRQ
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *Brodeur partner and Euan Barty sister agency Firebrand handles
Philips Semiconductor in Greater China
Burson-Marsteller
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
AstraZeneca, Merrill Lynch, BEP, SAP*
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *SAP is a global account, working in all regions.
Also includes work with affiliates
Chandler Chicco Agency
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Amgen, Novartis, Pfizer, Schering
International Revenue upG/down H
G 15 - 20 per cent *
International Staffing upG/down H
E No change
Regions Operating In
- **Notes: *per cent of total income has remained the same
**Pfizer account is worldwide
Chime Communications
HQ
London
Biggest Global Accounts
Emirates*, Extreme Networks, Sony
International Revenue upG/down H
H 42 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
H 46 per cent
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *manages global PR activity worldwide except
in the Middle East
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
HQ
Chicago and New York
Biggest Global Account
AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, UPS
International Revenue upG/down H
E No change
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: all client work listed is undertaken by Edelman's wholly-owned
network of offices
Financial Dynamics International
HQ
London
Biggest Global Accounts
Dassault*, Smith & Nephew, Cinven
International Revenue upG/down H
G 25 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
E No change
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *refers to Dassault Systems
Fleishman-Hillard International Communications
HQ
St Louis, Missouri
Biggest Global Accounts
Gatorade, JD Edwards, Procter & Gamble*
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *Gatorade has been a client since 2002, JD Edwards since 2000
and Procter & Gamble since 1990
GCI Group
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Bayer, British Airways, Dell, Visa Int*
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *Bayer has been a client for one year, BA for five, Dell for
two and Visa Int for five
Gibbs & Soell
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Cargill Dow, Dow Chemical, Syngenta*
International Revenue upG/down H
H more than 20 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *Syngenta refers to Syngenta Crop Protection
Golin/Harris International
HQ
Chicago
Biggest Global Accounts
Cotton*, FL Dept of Citrus**, Symbol Tech
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *refers to Cotton Council International
** refers to Florida Department of Citrus
Hill & Knowlton
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Aventis, Ford*, HP, Kellogg, Motorola
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *refers to Ford/Mazda
The Hoffman Agency
HQ
Silicon Valley
Biggest Global Accounts
3Com, Proxim, Ipass, Philips Semi*
International Revenue upG/down H
G 34 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
G 5 per cent
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *refers to Philips Semiconductor
Incepta Group (Citigate and The Red Consultancy)
HQ
London
Biggest Global Accounts
Bloomberg Europe, MSN EMEA*
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *The Red Consultancy runs Bloomberg Europe and MSN EMEA PR, the
latter jointly with Citigate Dewe Rogerson
The Jeffrey Group
HQ
Miami
Biggest Global Accounts
Discovery Channel, FedEx, Kodak*
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
E No change
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *these accounts refer to Discovery Channel Latin America, FedEx
Latin America and Kodak Latin America
Ketchum
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
FedEx, IBM, Kodak*
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *FedEx and Kodak accounts cover US, Europe and Asia
Lewis PR
HQ
San Francisco
Biggest Global Accounts
Antec, Equant, SPSS, Salesforce.com
International Revenue upG/down H
G 10 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
G 24 per cent
Regions Operating In
Manning Selvage & Lee
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
General Motors, Philips, Procter & Gamble
International Revenue upG/down H
G 5 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
G Increased*
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *percentages were undisclosed
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Intelsat*, Jones Day, Levitra
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *Intelsat account in South Africa is conducted through an
affiliate
Porter Novelli
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Gillette*, HP**, Wyeth
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *represents corporate, Braun, Oral-B and Venus **represents
Imaging & Printing Grp, Personal Systems Grp
Text 100
HQ
San Francisco
Biggest Global Accounts
IBM, NTT/Verio, Xerox
International Revenue upG/down H
G 4.3 per cent*
International Staffing upG/down H
H 11 per cent
Regions Operating In
Ruder Finn
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Citigroup, Infonet*, Novartis
International Revenue upG/down H
H 1.8 per cent
International Staffing upG/down H
H 1.1 per cent
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *global account co-ordination directed from Ruder Finn's New
York office
Waggener Edstrom Strategic Communications
HQ
Portland, Oregon
Biggest Global Accounts
Alcatel, Microsoft, Vignette
International Revenue upG/down H
H 49 per cent*
International Staffing upG/down H
G 17 per cent
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *figure for international revenue last year as a result of
losing SAP business.
Weber Shandwick
HQ
New York
Biggest Global Accounts
Microsoft, Pfizer/Pharmacia*, Siemens
International Revenue upG/down H
Undisclosed
International Staffing upG/down H
Undisclosed
Regions Operating In
- Notes: *Pfizer acquired Pharmacia in early 2003
KEY AND NOTES
- The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has prevented some agencies from submitting
figures, so agencies are listed alphabetically
- The global accounts listed may not be a comprehensive list of an
agency's international clients
- The regions agencies are operating in only refer to the global
accounts listed
- While each agency has been denoted by the region it operates in, this
does not necessarily mean it covers all countries
- All revenues that were submitted refer to the last 12 months
- North America & Canada
- South America
- Central America & Caribbean
- Europe
- Africa
- Middle East
- Asia-Pacific