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Contact: Public Relations Boutiques International Launches as New Global Network of Smaller PR Agencies
New York, N.Y. February 5, 2008 – Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI) has been created in reaction to a global marketplace’s demand for more seasoned and hands-on public relations counselors at firms with international PR expertise. This demand prompted12 PR “boutiques,” from around the world, with an impressive range of virtually all public relations capabilities, to join forces and take advantage of new business opportunities. DC-based Media & Communications Strategies, LLC is a founding member. Clients will benefit from very high quality service while enjoying the most competitive prices. The boutiques will benefit from having a high-quality network they can rely on to partner with on behalf of their clients. PRBI’s founding members are located in six strategic countries and 14 cities. The firms and locations include: Bridge Global Strategies, New York City; CampaignTeam, Sussex, U.K.; CJSW - Public Relations & Communications, Seoul; High View Communications, Toronto; Japan Public Relations Institute, Tokyo; Lang/Pan/Chan Public Relations, Los Angeles (headquarters), Shanghai and Beijing; Marx Communications, Trumbull, Conn.; Media & Communications Strategies, Washington, DC; Metrospective Communications, Philadelphia; Scott Phillips & Associates, Chicago; Shira Miller Communications, Atlanta; and Weisberg Communications Company, Salt Lake City. Lucy Siegel, president and CEO of Bridge Global Strategies, New York, who was elected president of the group for its first year, noted that PRBI offers clients several advantages over both large multinational PR firms and other networks of independent public relations firms. “First, we are all senior counselors and offer clients the benefit of years of experience and expertise in our fields. Most of us have worked for large agencies and mid-size firms and know how business is done there. We left to start our own businesses because we enjoy hands-on work with clients and staff, not going to management meetings all day and crunching numbers for quarterly profitability reports. We believe clients of large agencies lose an incredible amount by having only junior, unseasoned people working on their accounts day-in, day-out. What’s more, the billing rates are often breathtakingly high. As boutique owners, we’re in business for ourselves and a small group of employees, not a distant group of management and shareholders.” Added Bill Cowen, the group’s vice president and president of Metrospective Communications in Philadelphia, “Large agencies will talk about their ‘wholly owned networks’ as if that is a big plus, but actually the people in those networks have often never met each other or worked together. We know each other better than the people in those ‘wholly owned networks,’ since we get together with each other on at least an annual basis and have regular conference calls. And we are already collaborating with each other and working together on a number of different levels. The staffs at big conglomerates are obligated to use the offices in their networks to execute client work, no matter how ill- or well-suited each office may be to a particular client project. We have no such constraints. We’re free to go outside if the network member in a particular city doesn’t offer whatever we feel a client needs for a particular PR program.” Siegel noted there are other networks of independent public relations firms, both in the United States and in other parts of the world, most notably in Europe. Scott Sobel, president of Media & Communications Strategies in Washington, DC noted, “Where we differ is in the size of agencies in our network and the average level of experience of the people actually providing client service within the agencies.” He observed that, “Most of the other networks have larger mid-size agencies as members, agencies with 25, 50, or sometimes even 100 employees. It’s almost impossible for the senior executives at those agencies to do much client work. They’re too busy managing people, selling more business to feed them, and working on financials to do that. You can’t blame them – that’s just the way it is in a larger company.” PRBI will increase its membership to fill geographical gaps that will help provide seamless client service to an ever-expanding marketplace. “We will not rush to fill those gaps, however,” emphasized Siegel. “Our bylaws require that each new member be approved by every other member, and we are placing the bar high for approving new member applications. We are all acutely aware that the members we vote to accept now are the people we will rely on later to help us serve our clients.” Other officers elected by the group for the first year included: Secretary: David Watson, president of CampaignTeam, Sussex, U.K.; Treasurer: Ann Gallery, president of High View Communications, Toronto; and Member at Large: Nancy Choi, CJSW Public Relations & Communications, Seoul. #30 Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI) is an international network of boutique public relations firms. The principals of member firms are experienced practitioners who have held senior positions in large PR companies and/or large corporations but now put client service first and work directly with clients. PRBI member firms excel in meeting a huge range of client needs in a large number of industries, including corporate public relations, consumer PR, health care PR, investor relations, crisis management, business-to-business PR, economic development PR, not-for-profit representation, government, financial, technology, legal, multicultural and international PR. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards, with qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists. They also represent memberships in the most noteworthy international public relations and business associations. For more information, visit www.PRBoutiques.com
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Media & Communications Strategies LLC, 1020 19th Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036 |
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