- Double-digit growth for world’s two largest PR firms  

- China’s BlueFocus enters top 10，其实并没有进入前10，是一个乌龙事件，请看后面蓝标厚道的说明~~

- WPP PR firms flat, but Ketchum continues climb

 

Edelman and Weber Shandwick have widened their lead as the largest PR firms in the world, according to the 2014 World Report.

 

Edelman, which grew 12% to $747m, has now held the number one spot for the past four years. Meanwhile, The Holmes Report estimates that Weber Shandwick grew by 11% to reach almost $700m in fee income, putting it well clear of third-ranked FleishmanHillard.

 

In general, it was a year of modest growth for the giant PR firms, with only Ketchum joining Edelman and Weber Shandwick in delivering double-digit growth. The Holmes Report estimates that the Omnicom agency grew by more than 11% in 2013, helping it leapfrog Burson-Marsteller to take fifth spot, climbing from seventh position two years ago.

 

That was the only rankings shift in the top ten apart from, of course, BlueFocus — the Chinese PR firm whose mercurial growth saw it rise from 19th in 2013 to 9th this year. The group’s BlueDigital unit reported fee income of $271m, confirming its emergence as a global PR player.

 

WPP PR firms — in particular, B-M, H+K and Ogilvy PR — were flat. Outside the top 10, meanwhile, there was eye-catching growth from GolinHarris (12%), Media Consulta (17%), W2O Group (21%) and Japan's Vector (24%).

 

Fee income for eight of the top 10 firms is estimated by The Holmes Report based on published sources (including holding company revenues) and our own knowledge of the industry, with the majority of large holding companies continuing to use the Sarbanes-Oxley financial disclosure rules as an excuse not to publish numbers of individual businesses.

 

Independent firms, meanwhile, continue to outperform the holding companies in terms of growth, with Edelman only the most prominent example. Overall, independent firms submitting information to the Holmes Report 250 experienced growth of better than 12%, compared to average growth of around 4% for the public relations operations of the major holding companies.

 

The Global Rankings form part of the World PR Report, conducted in conjunction with ICCO, which will also include the results of a definitive survey of attitudes and trends among PR agencies worldwide.