Company Overview

Edelman, which was founded in 1952 and today has more than 2,000 employees, is the largest independent PR agency in the world—and one of the most well rounded, in terms of having a significant presence in a wide variety of markets and offering services such as research and advertising that others in the industry may not be able to offer. The firm has more than 45 offices worldwide, 18 practices, and serves five primary industries—consumer, financial services, health care, technology, and industrial. It also has notable strengths in crisis management and public affairs. The agency’s strength is in consumer marketing and health care. It also has notable expertise in crisis management and public affairs. Edelman launched its new entertainment practice in 2004, and a new viral marketing practice in 2005. The strongest-growing among the firm’s 15 practices in 2005 were government relations (thanks to stem cell–related work for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine), health care, and consumer marketing. Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign and work for Wal-Mart were among the more significant pieces of business handled by Edelman in 2005. Edelman reacted to the business downturn in the early 2000s by closing offices in some smaller markets, and laying off employees. But the firm is growing again, and in 2005 the firm opened new offices in Tokyo and Warsaw. In 2006, Edelman purchased A&R Partners, a Silicon Valley firm, substantially increasing the firm’s technology practice; the group is now called A&R Edelman.