MOMENTUM
One of the top three independents in the US marketplace, Waggener Edstrom bounced back from a difficult 2009—revenues had slipped by about 15 percent—with solid single digit growth in 2010, ending the year with global fee income of around $112 million, about $95 million of it derived from its US operations. The firm saw organic growth from a host of existing clients—a list that includes HTC USA, BMC Software, Abbott Laboratories, Shire, Wick Hill, Complete Genomics, Hitachi Data Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Texas Instruments–DLP, T-Mobile and of course Microsoft—and added more than 70 new clients including Bing, Tupperware, Microsoft Mobility, Brookfield Properties, Microsoft Health Solutions Group and Shire.
REGIONAL REACH
The bulk of Waggener Edstrom’s US presence is still concentrated in its Pacific Northwest homeland—one more thing that sets it apart from its peers, with major concentrations in both Seattle and Portland. But recent years have seen the firm’s continued expansion into other key markets, including the major technology centers—Silicon Valley, Austin and Boston; New York, where the firm has an increasingly noteworthy corporate practice; and Washington, DC, where it is equipped to handle the growing number of public policy challenges facing tech and other clients.
INTERNATIONAL REACH
Following significant expansion of its European footprint, from the UK to Germany to France to Brussels, this year brought Waggener Edstrom its first African office, in Johannesburg, and its branded presence is supplemented by a growing roster of WE Global Alliance partners. Nevertheless, revenue growth in the region remains elusive, with UK fees flat in 2010 as the global economic crisis took its toll. In Asia, the firm has been expanding at an impressive pace since its acquisition of Hong Kong-based tech specialist Shout in 2005. Chief executive David Ko has built three equally strong practice areas—tech, consumer and corporate, all supported by digital capabilities—in five offices (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai) in the region, plus strong affiliates in Australia, Japan and other key markets.
EXPERTISE
Building on its heritage in the technology sector—a heritage that distinguishes it from the other multiservice, multi-office firms in this report—Waggener Edstrom has expanded its focus in recent years. The firm is structured around seven practice areas, and while technology remains the largest (with a specialist analyst relations unit adding depth and strength), the others showcase a wide range of capabilities. There are the obvious consumer, healthcare, corporate and public affairs groups, all of which have shown healthy growth in recent years, as well as a social innovation practice that focuses on social responsibility and sustainability issues, all supplemented by the digital strategies group, WE Studio D, which—as might be expected, given the firm’s tech expertise—ranks among the best in the business.
TALENT
Melissa Waggener Zorkin and co-founder Pam Edstrom continue to helm the firm they launched in 1983, supported by a leadership team that includes chief of staff Julie Allport, president of global regions Claire Lematta, and president of Studio D Jennifer Houston. New additions in 2010 included Lisa Allen, senior vice president in the technology practice, and general manager of the San Francisco office; Michele Clarke, senior vice president in the New York corporate practice; Suzanne Zurn, vice president, digital advocacy; Aimee Corso, senior vice president, healthcare; and Hannah Coan, senior vice president on the firm’s Microsoft business.
CULTURE
Waggener Edstrom has around 800 employees and has long prided itself on its ability to attract and retain top talent, having been named Best Large Agency to Work For in North America by this publication more times than any other firm. The firm’s professional development activities are outstanding, from 252 separate trainings and workshops (employees can build their own learning plans, and completed nearly 9,000 total training hours last year) to the Leadership Forum, which focuses on developing future agency leaders. The firm also has a serious commitment to diversity, supporting the Lagrant Foundation and targeting multicultural recruits. Finally, the firm gives back 1 percent of revenues to corporate philanthropy, and gives all employees 16 hours off in each year for community work.
INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP
Waggener Edstrom recognized the opportunity presented by the growing importance of digital influence much earlier than many of its peers, and has developed a suite of monitoring and measuring tools, supplementing its Influence Ranking, Influence Mapping and patented Narrative Network tools with new products including WE twendz pro, created to provide proprietary influence ranking and analytics; Social Influence System, which helps companies integrate social media across all channels and departments; and News Stream, a methodology that helps companies develop, publish and distribute content and messaging.
PROGRAMS
Waggener Edstrom has worked on the launch almost every major new Microsoft product for 25 years, and the introduction of Internet Explorer 9 was no exception, with a campaign designed to generate mainstream and new media buzz from beta testing to retail—helping generate 2 million downloads in the two days after launch. The firm also created and executed a yearlong program to support Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, engaging influencers from around the world, leading to the largest field of entrants the contest has seen. The firm also guided T-Mobile through its first Twitter sweepstakes, working across departments to deliver an award-winning effort. And beyond the tech sector, it worked with Shire Pharmaceuticals on a patient and physician outreach effort that led to double digit increase in market share.
BRAND
While many observers continue to regard Waggener Edstrom as a technology firm, that’s more a reflection of its incredibly strong positioning in that sector than its efforts to build a brand around its ability to deliver innovative public relations solutions to a broader base of innovative clients. The firm’s “influence manifesto” (defining beliefs: content is king; understand the audience; engagement is nuance) is a clear statement of its understanding of how the communications business is changing, and it has backed it up with some intriguing research into trends in both innovation and influence.
THE FUTURE
Waggener Edstrom has made slow but steady progress in establishing itself as a global (not just North American) player and as a force in categories beyond its core tech competence. But given that the firm has articulated a strong, timely, and relevant proposition for clients beyond its base, that progress has probably been less dramatic than its principals would have liked. Is there a concern that other big firms could close the gap on its technology and digital and social media expertise before it closes the gap on their broader geographic and service offerings?