Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter – the bible of the public-relations industry – has anointed Edelman PR Worldwide as the No. 1 P.R. firm in its annual poll of top independent agencies.
Edelman topped the crowd, with $230.4 million in annual revenue.
But Jack O’Dwyer himself is fuming that many of the biggest firms in the industry – who once openly reported their numbers to him – have dropped out of the annual ranking.
He places the blame largely on the ad giants that have gobbled up many of the top P.R. firms over the years – from Hill & Knowlton to Burson Marstellar. “Twenty one of the top 25 firms are not ranked – and they’re all owned by ad agencies,” complained O’Dwyer. “It’s a terrible loss to the industry,” he said.
“It’s like a baseball team that won’t report its players batting averages to the baseball writers.”
Rubenstein Communications, one of the biggest independent firms – which represents the New York Post and parent News Corp. – is also not in the mix. “If they were included, they’d probably be ranked about No. 4 among the independents,” said Kevin McCauley, editor of the J.R. O’Dwyer Co.
Edelman increased 11.9 percent while the No. 2 indie, Ruder Finn Group, gained 13.4 percent to $89.7 million.
“It means P.R. firms have come back from the dead,” McAuley said. It has been a long hard slog out of the doldrums for the firms, which started slumping in 2000 and really took a tumble after 9/11.
The top 10
Edelman PR Worldwide
Ruder Finn Group
Waggener Edstrom
Schwartz Communications
Dan Klores Communications
Zeno Group
Qorvis Communications
Gibbs & Soell
A&R Partners
Rogers & Associates