The hotel giant that owns the Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels and Le Meridien brands is poised to hand a major pan-EMEA PR brief to Fleishman-Hillard, following a keenly-contested pitch.

The Holmes Report understands that Starwood Hotels and Resorts is currently concluding contracts with Fleishman-Hillard to handle overall PR strategy across the region and its nine brands. The brief is estimated in the six-figure range, and it is believed that as many has 10 agencies took part in the pitch.

Fleishman-Hillard UK director Emma Wiseman confirmed that talks between the agency and Starwood were underway.

“We are talking to Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ EAME division about a newly created PR agency role supporting a number of key markets in the region,” said Wiseman. “At this stage, more specific details of what this might look like are to be confirmed but we are hopeful of moving this forward.”

The account is understood to cover corporate and consumer PR, hubbed out of London. Starwood currently works with a number of agencies on a brand and market basis in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The decision to appoint an agency can be seen as evidence of Starwood’s goal to raise its overall profile. The company recently announced plans to open a further 50 hotels across EMEA by 2012, adding to the 240 that it currently owns, operates or franchises.

The Middle East is seen as particular priority for the company, with an expansion target of 40 percent by 2015. Other brands that Starwood has brought to the EMEA region include The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, St Regis, Aloft and ElementSM.

Representatives from Starwood declined to comment.

At present, the list is about the same size as it was last November and I fully expect it to expand beyond fifteen sixteen opportunities. It also consists, mainly of the larger London based agencies, which is to be expected as smaller, regional agencies do not tend to run a formal graduate scheme.

The list demonstrates that whilst many final year students will be acclimatising to their final year and thinking about dissertations, the race for a graduate PR job has also begun.

I anticipate this list will grow in the new year, so I will be making amendments as new opportunities arise.

On a personal note, the feedback I received after last years list was tremendous and people seemed genuinely grateful. I hope this years proves just as useful for the class of 2011. Sarah Stimson deserves a lot of credit for very kindly sharing her list of 2011 PR Grad Schemes. Thank you, Sarah.

Note to companies: if you have a scheme please email me and I’ll add you to the list.

Updated 28 February 2011

Blue Rubicon
Closed

Burson-Marseller
Open for internships all year round

Chime Comms
Closed

Content & Motion
Open – C&M are looking for a final year student or recent graduate to join their team.

Diffusion
Closed

Edelman
Closed

Eulogy
Closes 21 March 2011

Fast Track
Closed

Fishburn Hedges
Closed

Fleishman-Hillard
Open
Operates a six month training scheme all year round. On completion of the graduate training scheme performance will be reviewed and, if satisfactory, graduates will be considered for a permanent position.

Four Comms
Closed

Hill & Knowlton
Open early 2011

Hotwire Group (encompassing Hotwire and Skywrite)
Closed

Ketchum Pleon
Open
Closes 29 April 2011

Lexis PR
Closed

Speed Comms
Closed

Waggener Edstrom has launched in India, poaching hiring Text 100 veteran Madhuri Sen to lead its new office in the country.

Sen joins Wag-Ed after more than a decade at Text 100, most recently heading the agency’s GRO “offshoring” hub.

While Waggener Edstrom representative declined to comment on the development, The Holmes Report understands that Sen has been in place as India MD since last month.

It is further believed that Waggener Edstrom has chosen to launch via a wholly-owned start-up, rather than by acquisition. This approach remains relatively rare among international agencies in India, although Fleishman-Hillard adopted a similar strategy when it opened in India in 2007.

Waggener Edstrom’s Asia-Pacific presence remains relatively small compared to some of its rivals. Regional CEO David Ko is based in Hong Kong, while the agency also has offices in Singapore and China. Earlier this year, the Holmes Report named Waggener Edstrom has Technology Consultancy of the Year in Asia-Pacific.

Key accounts in Asia-Pacific include global client Microsoft, HP and EMC, although it is not clear whether Waggener Edstrom has launched to service these businesses in India. Each of those companies has existing local agencies: Microsoft and HP work with Genesis Burson-Marsteller while EMC retains Six Degrees.

The Chicago Chapter of PRSA once again wrapped up a year of programs with the city’s agency leaders discussing this year’s trends and next year’s industry forecast. 
 
Northwestern professor Clarke Caywood moderated panelists Bill Zucker, Midwest Director at Ketchum, Maxine Winer, Senior Partner and General Manager at Fleishman-Hillard, Maril MacDonald, CEO of Gagen MacDonald, and Gary Rudnick, EVP and Managing Director at GolinHarris.

 
What are agency leaders asked about first? That’s right…Social Media. The discussion quickly turned to the looming question of WHO owns Social Media:  PR? Marketing? Advertising?

The panel made a good case that PR pros should lead Social Media efforts due to a history of (and skills sets that include) relationship-building, content creation, and garnering attention

Bill Zucker cautioned that no one really “owns” social media, but all disciplines should participate. Gary Rudnick added that owning SM is like the outdated thinking that advertising owns TV and PR owns newspapers. 
 
Maxine Winer sees PR beginning to make a difference when it intersects with customer service. The integration of CRM tools with SM platforms enables companies to engage with their customers faster and more directly. 

It was refreshing to hear Maril MacDonald advise the crowd to align SM engagements to your clients’ or company’s most important business metrics (sales, traffic, etc.) instead of communications metrics. 
 
I agree! Too often, PR conferences are infiltrated by “Social Media measurement mavens” (the most horrible term in the industry) and their silly equations that make CEOs’ eyes glaze over. In order for PR to participate in bottom-line business discussions, we need to speak the language.

While these PR industry leaders make a good case for PR to lead Social Media, I question if that is really happening currently. Many companies with whom I speak daily have Social Media engagement sitting squarely with Marketing with no contribution from the PR team or outside PR agency.

Please share your thoughts via comment section –

Should SM engagement be led by PR, Marketing, Advertising, or Customer Service? And…WHY?

Steffen Moller is a digital strategist in our Brussels office. His insights on the challenges of bringing digital tools to a market so focused on policy and meeting policymakers is instructive. You can sometimes sense his frustration, but more often than not his untamed passion leaps from the screen. I know he’s making waves in our office there and doing some great things. More to come I can assure you. It’s also interesting to note that the challenge of bringing digital to Brussels is part of a larger play of helping clients understand the larger palette with which they have to paint to successfully achieve their PA objectives. Worth a read.

Metricsman, Don Bartholomew from FH Research in St. Louis, is a godsend for anyone seeking to think about the impact of what they do in the communications (including public affairs). I listened to Don in an internal FH webinar in the summer where he spoke eloquently about ROI in the context of social media. I was inspired. Much of what he has to say has relevance across the communications disciplines and outside of the digital realm. It strikes me however that much of the cutting edge thinking in our industry is being generated by folks with non-traditional PR backgrounds. The Don, as I think we should christen him, is the man the rest of us call when we want someone who lives measurement, rather than is simply able to talk about it.

James

Three giant agencies are battling for the title of world’s largest public relations firm, with Weber Shandwick topping The Holmes Report’s Global Rankings for 2010, just ahead of Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman.

The rankings of the world’s 250 biggest PR firms are the result of industry research and analysis compiled during the course of this year, looking at fee income figures for 2009. The report also estimates the size of the global PR consultancy industry at $8 billion, marking a 7.5 percent drop last year

You can download a complete list of The Holmes Report Global Rankings 2010 – the largest PR firms in the world – here

You can download a PDF of this at-a-glance infographic, based on our research findings and rankings, by clicking the image above.

At the very top of the rankings, there is little to choose between Weber Shandwick, Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman, any one of which can make a credible claim on the top spot in these rankings. All three have revenues of close to half a billion dollars and all three appear to have outperformed the industry as a whole last year, although the steep decline in Omnicom’s PR revenues makes it likely that Fleishman had the most difficult year of the three, since it accounts for about half of the parent company’s PR revenues.

[For a full methodology, including how fee incomes were estimated for Sarbanes-Oxley agenices, click here]

But more dramatic moves occurred in the pack of agencies chasing these three leaders. MS&L just squeaked into the top 10 the last time we conducted these rankings. But the consolidation of all of Publicis Groupe’s PR operations—including French powerhouse Publicis Consultants, which ranked at number 13 in our last ranking; London’s Freud Communications; and New York corporate and financial specialist Kekst and Company—has lifted the firm into the top five.

Similarly, Ketchum’s merger with Omnicom sister agency Pleon — already a top three player in the EMEA region—elevated the firm into the pack of four agencies chasing the top three. (At the same time, it knocked Brodeur, which had been affiliated with Pleon, down the rankings.)

Finally, the restructuring of Huntsworth’s public relations operations led to a merger between its Grayling, Trimedia, and Mmd operations, all listed separately last year.

The most important conclusion of all of this research is that public relations is a substantial global industry, generating at least $8 billion in fee income for consulting firms around the world in 2009, employing close to 55,000 people, and generating approximately $150,000 in fee income per employee. We also estimate that the industry shrunk by about 7.5 percent last year.

The Global Rankings 2010 report also includes:
– rankings of the top 250 PR consultancies in the world
– regional rankings for North America, UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific;
– a comprehensive survey of more than 320 agency leaders worldwide about the key trends and issues at play in their markets; and
– profiles of 24 global agency networks

We will be running online coverage of each of these areas every day this week. Full, detailed analysis of all of the rankings, research, trends and issues is available in the print version of the report.

To receive a copy of The Holmes Report Global Rankings 2010 please contact cpicco@holmesreport.com

So what is the difference then? Here’s what I think: If you look at smaller branding agencies popping up all over, that is the all in one agency. These companies are concerned with all facets of a brand, and a PR agency could be one part of that. I envision this kind of a system:

I don’t buy it. Favre should ask out of the game? Hell no…players want to play, and I wouldn’t want any other kind on my team whether it’s grade school soccer or pro football.  At the same time, just as players play, managers have to manage.  At some point, when you see your quarterback hobbling across the field and, worse, avoiding sacks with a wild, underhanded fling…don’t you think it’s time to call a timeout? Maybe have a talk with your guy? See if he’s doing OK?  Give him a chance to breathe?

Being a manager isn’t easy.  There are lots off techniques in the toolbox, but they call come down to being able to see the goal clearly, know the path to that goal, and get the best out of your people so you all can get there.  If you don’t like confrontation, you don’t want to manage. If you can’t put yourself in the place of your team, get what they’re feeling, you don’t want to manage.  Same if, knowing where your team stands, you don’t like telling hard truths or making tough decisions.

Seeing Favre at Lambeau last night — alternately brilliant and baffling — reminded me of how important it is to have a manager that will help you look good — and save you from yourself.  I remember what one of my favorite managers said to me when I started at Fleishman-Hillard.  I’d just taken the job from another communications agency, and, eager beaver that I was, I asked him about my billable hours goals.  He said:

“Ken, don’t worry about billable hours. It’s my job as a manager to worry getting you the hours. You just do great work.”

That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?

Dazed and Confused is one film that I’ve never got my wife to watch. It lasted all of ten minutes the last time I put it in the DVD player. To be fair to the missus, the film does not have a huge amount to recommend it. Despite being stocked full of stars before they were famous (Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich and Dr. Green’s wife from ER to name but a few) my fondness is probably due to the fact it reminds me of my own care free years at High School. I had hair that was far too long and did far too many things that weren’t too smart in retrospect. It also has one great line from Matthew McConaughey character:

“That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”

It strikes me that chemicals policy debates are pretty analogous. I’ve changed city, but the debate seems to have remained the same. The NGO  community is saying: hey there are lots of chemicals in consumer products, they are finding there way into you, our current regulatory system is not dealing with this and if it has data, industry isn’t sharing it. In essence, (chemophobia + inadequate regulatory regime) times by mistrust of industry = need for reform. If you want a take on what’s being discussed check out this blog. Industry comes back with facts about safety of individual products and a nod to the need to remain competitive. Alas, it didn’t work in Europe, and while the US political situation is different, my betting would be in the long term some kind of reform is coming down the tracks. With industry as far as I can see not proposing an alternative, it’s going to be all about keeping the cost of legislation under control and ensuring that it does give some business certainty; two areas where I think European industry would suggest REACH failed.

Happily, I am doing my bit to try and get industry to not remain dazed and confused and learn from the past. Next week, Fleishman-Hillard’s International Advisory Board member, Guenter Verheugen, former Vice President of the European Commission and one of two Commissioners to lead on REACH, will speak at a working breakfast at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in an effort to help industry think about what it can learn from European debates. You can find out more here.

James

Fleishman-Hillard has completed its lengthy search for a UK MD by appointing eBay’s Richard Kanareck to the role.

Kanareck departs eBay after four years , most recently as European communications director. He succeeds Lucien Vallun, who took charge of F-H’s Central and Eastern European operations earlier this year.

Prior to joining eBay, Kanareck spent a decade at the Red Consultancy. At F-H, he will report to UK, Africa and Middle East president Kevin Bell.

Vallun held the UK MD role for two and a half years, after moving from F-H’s South Africa office in 2007.

Northwestern University’s Medill Reports recently published an article on marketing to the gay community.  The article presents a few snapshots of corporate marketing efforts and gives some helpful advice from experts on GLBT marketing.  I especially like this excerpt from Michael Murphy, senior vice president of communications firm Fleishman-Hillard:

“But in order to really tap into the market, Murphy said a company must start by looking inward.  “You have to practice what you preach,” he said.  Murphy suggests looking at human relations and corporate responsibility to see how LGBT employees are treated within a company.  Fair policies and employee work groups supporting LGBT are key.

Murphy sees employees within a company as the best “brand ambassadors in the community.”

In making the move outward, Murphy warns against stereotypes and cliches, such as rainbow flags in advertising and marketing campaigns.  He advises businesses to complete their market research and to test the campaign to make sure it is respectful through use of employee focus groups.

“The return on investment can be exponential if [the company] does it right,” Murphy said.  The market is not only untapped over all, but Murphy pointed out that each letter within the acronym ‘LGBT’ signifies a different untouched segment.”

You can read the entire article here.

Monday metaphor: a creative leaping into the unknown. Photo by Kai Uwe Gundlach, courtesy of stocklandmartelarchives.com.

.

The so-called creative exodus: Is there a trend in top-tier creatives making the leap into their own agencies or other industries altogether? Ad Age suggests there is in the article “Creative Exodus in Adland: It’s Just Not ‘Fun’ Anymore.” “Since the beginning of the year, a veritable Cannes jury worth of senior creative talent has shrugged off the leashes of big agency networks for their own start-ups or for creative pursuits outside the ad industry,” writes Matthew Creamer. Among the creatives mentioned are Ty Montague and co-CEO Rosemarie Ryan, formerly of JWT; Alex Bogusky; Eric Hirshberg, who left Deutsch, L.A.; and Eric Silver, who exited DDB, New York.

.

More big moves:

• Ad agency 72andSunny has brought on Mick DiMaria and Justin Hooper as creative directors. (“72andSunny Welcomes Creative Pair,” AgencySpy.)

• Dean Hacohen has joined BBDO as executive creative director; he previously held that title at Cramer-Krasselt Chicago. (via Creativity Online)

• CP+B has added three creative directors: Matt Fischvogt, formerly creative director, integration and innovation, at Mullen; Todd Grant, previsouly executive creative director at Cole & Weber United; and Dave Cook, formerly creative director at GMMB. (via Agency Spy)

• Time Inc. has tapped Katy Delehanty as executive design director. She was previously creative director at Harpers Bazaar.

• Two departures at Grey NY: EVP, group account director Bill Power resigned. “From what sources are telling us, Power could be joining Fleishman-Hillard alongside Nick Childs, who also left Grey earlier this week,” reports Agency Spy.  (Related: “Vincent Laforet and Grey EVP Nick Childs on “Beyond the Still” and winning twice at the Cannes advertising festival”)

.

No Flash, please, we’re agencies: Art director Nick Jones has gotten a lot of buzz for exposing how ill-equipped many big-name agencies’ websites work on iPhones and iPads because of Flash (among the shops mentioned are Wieden+Kennedy, R/GA, BBH, and TBWA). More proof of the challenges facing not just agencies but any business for which its website is a cornerstone—it’s not enough to be good at what you do; you also have to constantly adapt your online presentation to keep it current with ever-changing technology. The days of being able to coast for years on a mega-redesign are over, methinks…

.

Staff cuts at JWT New York: “From what we’ve been told, the layoffs affected 2 percent of staff including mostly producers as well as art buyers and junior creatives who were all tied to the Microsoft Cloud and Kimberly-Clark business,” writes Agency Spy.

.

New York magazine reports that “Twitter Is Getting a Makeover”: “The redesigned site simplifies the homepage and, most significantly, will show photos and play videos on the site, rather than forcing users to open new tabs in their browsers.”  (More here.)

.

Being nice, part deux: In an “Insights” interview with Communication Arts, Prentice Howe, senior vice president and executive creative director of Austin, Texas-based Door Number 3, was asked if he had advice for people just entering the profession. His response: “Two things. 1) Your book is never finished. 2) Be good to people. The relationships you cultivate will define your career.” (More on the value of being nice here.)

.

.

This is something I'd of never seen in the Midwest. Stopped the Harley on little-used SC-341 near Darlington, SC for this shot of cotton.

My guess is the first heady days of college life have gone poof for most kids.  Their lives have settled into a routine; study (their parents hope), eat, sleep, hang out with friends, and sure, party.   Okay, maybe those aren’t ranked in the right order.

By now, because they can’t stand the suspense of not knowing what’s going on, parents have initiated some sort of ‘how are you?’ contact.  That’s the typical formula.  Probably a mixture of emails and texts.  Schools might as well yank mailboxes because those will never see much use.  No, scrub that.  Then the credit card offers would never have a place to land.  But on further review, maybe yanking the mailboxes isn’t such a bad thing.

I’ve heard from a dozen people or so about my op-ed piece in the Charlotte Observer.  What a great idea, some say.  We should all do that, say others.   I don’t know.  Maybe my time, the time of correspondence, has truly gone by.  You can’t open up the newspaper these days without Google trumpeting a new something or other to make our lives even faster or more socially networked than they are now.  More efficient, too.  But we damn well can’t turn back the clock, that’s for sure.  I’m whining on a Monday morning.  Time for coffee.

——————-

Here is last week’s letter to Ellen and Reid.

September 7, 2010

Ellen/Reid: Reid, it was good to talk to you at length yesterday.  I like the way you think although I don’t pretend to understand but a small portion of your digital world.  This morning I’ll open up your emails and try to get through the web site stuff.  I really appreciate your help.  By this weekend most of the heavy lifting copy-wise should be finished.  And be sure to send at least cell phone pix of your new bachelor digs.  There’s something about privacy that you just can’t beat.  You shouldn’t be concerned at all that you don’t live in what others perceive as the tony section of Chicago.  It’s all about what makes you tick, not them.

So today was your first day in the classroom, Ellen.  Will be anxious to get the lowdown on your first week with the kids.  No doubt you will be a smash hit just like you always have been.  Good to get back in the whirl of teaching.  That is your realm.  Your weekend had to be lively and exciting what with Tim’s brother in town.

I overlooked a good Bubba story last week.  When Felicia and I were out west – out in western North Carolina – we were fishing a little stream on Saturday morning.  I was several yards out front working my way up the pools when I turned around to see where she was and she was frantically motioning me to hurriedly get back to her.  Maybe I’d come a little too close with a fly or something.  But her anxiety was real: we had a visitor.  It seems a local Good ‘Ol Boy, shirtless and maybe toothless and his backwoods element, had been spying on us from the bank.  Felicia had spotted him peering through the underbrush.  My guess is he was eyeing her instead of me, but it was fairly unnerving.  I never saw him, but a local confirmed later that Bubba was a little out of kilter.  All we could think about was Deliverance all over again.  We got out of there real fast.

Nothing new to report on the job front.  In a few week’s time I’ll be done here.  Already I’ve packed up most of my personal belongings and my cube is nearly barren of all but bank paperwork.  I’ve been taking stock of the past few years here, trying to make sense of what has unfolded (as opposed to unraveled).  I think I was a square peg in a round-holed world.  In the strictest sense, banking was simply not my cup of tea.  Now it’s on to whatever it is that lies ahead of me.  Fleishman-Hillard is a possibility but only as a contractor.  Better than nothing and it is in my wheelhouse.  The Charlotte Observer has approached me to write a regular column on senior housing issues – hey, I’m a senior – but it will hardly pay the bills.  But that’s where your help on the web site will come in handy, Reid.  I really appreciate you pulling all that stuff together and I’ll get at it this morning.  You’ve in essence dragged me kicking and screaming into the new world.  It will be a slow build but will be interesting if not fun.

Kind of a slow weekend in these parts.  Rode through Asheboro, NC and up to Winston-Salem to the Harley dealer.  Only then did we realize we’d already been to that dealer.  A pair of idiots.  It was a true senior moment.  The other high point was staining the front deck with some sort of water-proofing compound.  Big whoop.  The tomato plant, however, has made a resurgence in the face of my best efforts to neglect it.  There are fruits on the vine although the orbs are size-challenged.

This time next week I’ll be in Idaho with Bob and Dave.  I’m somewhat anxious about the trip because it is going against my grain.  That is, hold fast to the home front to keep plugging away for a job.  But has Bob has hammered into me time and again, things can wait.  Ready to see the Real West again even in the face of angst.  FYI…I will likely head to Nebraska to help your uncle Ralph tie things up relative to the home and to see mom in Grand Island.  There may even be side trips to St. Paul and Chicago, so watch out.  Keep your cell phones charged and ready for a call.

Join the Community Service Public Relations Council on Tuesday, Sept. 7, for a panel discussion on crisis communication. Cindy Gibson, Assistant to the Superintendent for Communications and Community Services in the Ritenour School District, will provide some real-world examples and practical advice for turning theory into an effective response. Tim Beecher, Senior Vice President and Senior Partner at Fleishman-Hillard, will provide advice from a leading public relations firm. We will discuss how social media changed the communications landscape, how organizations should prepare for a crisis, and how to respond. Tuesday, September 7, 2010
11:30 a.m. to noon: Registration and networking
Noon to 1:15 p.m.: Lunch and Program  

Meeting Fees: members, $25; non-members, $35; sttudents, $20  

Please note: Make reservations no later than noon on Friday, Sept. 3. Walk-ins may not be able to be accommodated. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance; no-shows will be billed.  

Meeting Location
Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel
7730 Bonhomme Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63105
Complimentary parking is available in the hotel garage.  

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A RESERVATION

Last year in Brussels our team looked at how Members of the European Parliament are using the internet to communicate with voters. Our company’s interest in this ticked a lot of boxes for me. Not least a passionate belief that we need to bring our elected members closer to citizens if our European project is to thrive for the next fifty years. As the results of our work came in, it was clear that in this as in much else our own Union is still in need of perfecting.

In the same vein, I’d recommend EP staffers to check out  the Partnership for a More Perfect Union website. F-H has been involved in helping the Congressional Management Foundation‘s efforts to promote greater understanding of how the internet can help Congress reach citizens.  It is a great resource for anyone thinking of how to help elected members anywhere figure out how to make the most of the web.

The Partnership for a More Perfect Union’s latest video is embedded above.

James

But I love it! Their transparency was admirable and quick recall even smarter. I’m a total crisis comm. nerd.

This probably explains why yesterday, when my company found itself in the midst of a mini PR crisis, my blood started pumping. At last, a chance to use those skills my four-year degree equipped in me!

I’m really fortunate in the fact that I get to work with a former Fleishman-Hillard executive. Although it was a mini crisis, she executed flawlessly and managed to calm the nerves of the anxiety-ridden VP here. Here’s how it went.

• Company got word of a series of press conferences that could mention us
• PR team put together statements and internal communication about potential mini-crisis
• PR team set up keyword searches in monitoring service
• Press conferences happened and did mention company
• PR team distributed pre-developed statements (which were completely transparent and cooperative)
• PR team monitored all news outlets

We’re still monitoring the news for any mention or larger pick up of the piece, but nerves have calmed over at corporate. Nothing caught us off guard which made it easier to respond appropriately. Adrenaline levels were high, but in control. It felt awesome!

I got home late last night, excited about the day. My boyfriend asked why I was so excited if this mini crisis could be bad for the company.

But he’s an architect. He just doesn’t get it.

Here’s to another day of blood-pumping crisis comms!

Omnicom Group, the owner of PR agencies Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum Pleon and Porter Novelli, reported solid organic PR revenue growth of 5.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2010.

The results meant that PR growth outstripped the 3.4 per cent increase recorded by the group’s massive advertising unit. For the first half of the year, PR revenues grew by 4.1 per cent, excluding acquisition revenue and foreign exchange impact.

Omnicom’s PR unit was particularly hard-hit in 2009, with revenues slumping by 15 per cent.

In an earnings call, Omnicom CEO John Wren said that, “PR also showed fairly strong growth in the quarter.”

Wren further disclosed that Omnicom had reappointed Dara Akabarian to spearhead the group’s acquisition efforts in Asia. “As we’ve said in the past we expect to see more activity going forward especially in markets like Asia,” said Wren.

PR revenues reached $566.7 million in the first half of 2010, and $291.1 million in the second quarter of the year. Overall Q2 revenues grew by 5.9 per cent to $3.04 billion.

According to a survey by Fleishman-Hillard (my former employer) and Harris Interactive – 68% are glad brands are listening and responding to the issue at hand. 35% feel as if it was all for show if there was no action being taken. 7% would feel as if their privacy was being violated.

via eMarketer: building trust through brand monitoring.