Public Relations and the Advertising Industry
The public relations industry, the same as advertising, is concentrated in the hands of few dominant firms. Still, the striking element about corporate public relations is that PR firms are tightly related to advertising companies. Nine out of the ten biggest international PR agencies have close ties with the advertising industry. Also, looking at the largest acquisitions involving U.S. PR firms from 1997 to 1999 it is apparent that money coming from advertising agencies has played an important role.
Table: Top 10 PR Firms 1998
Rank 1998
| PR Firm
| Advertising Agency Related
| 1998 Net Fees (in U.S. $)
| 1997 - 1998 % Change
| 1
| Burson-Marsteller
| yes
| 258,417,000
| 4.2
| 2
| Hill and Knowlton
| yes
| 206,000,000
| 8.9
| 3
| Porter Novelli Int.
| yes
| 183,050,000
| 23.6
| 4
| Shandwick
| yes
| 170,300,000
| 7.3
| 5
| Fleishman-Hillard
| yes
| 160,692,000
| 19.1.
| 6
| Edelman PR Worldwide
| no
| 157,840,530
| 18.1
| 7
| Ketchum
| yes
| 125,248,000
| 29.6
| 8
| BSMG Worldwide
| yes
| 118,963,000
| 93.0
| 9
| Weber PR Worldwide
| yes
| 83,166,000
| 36.2
| 10
| GCI/APCO
| yes
| 79,667,957
| 28.4
| |
With many PR agencies sold to advertising companies, the advertising industry's influence further increases; enabling them to offer their clients not only advertising services, but also know-how in marketing, public opinion, crisis and issues management and political lobbying.
Table: Acquisition of PR Agencies (1997 - 1999)
Acquired Company
| Buyer
| Buyers Industry
| Estimated Purchase Price (in millions of U.S. $)
| International PR
| Interpublic Group of Cos.
| Advertising
| 230
| Fleishman-Hillard
| Omicom Group
| Advertising
| 85
| Ketchum
| Omnicom Group
| Advertising
| 60
| Dewe Rogerson
| Incepta
| Advertising
| 40
| Financial Rel. Bd.
| BSMG/TN
| Public Relations
| 33
| Weber PR
| Interpublic Group of Cos.
| Advertising
| 15
| Alexander
| WPP Group
| Advertising
| 15
| Charles Barker
| BSMG/TN
| Public Relations
| 15
| |
Source: Odwyerpr.com.
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ECHELON Main Stations
Location
| Country
| Target/Task
| Relations
| MORWENSTOW
| UK
| INTELSAT, Atlantic, Europe, Indian Ocean
| NSA, GCHQ
| SUGAR GROVE
| USA
| INTELSAT, Atlantic, North and South America
| NSA
| YAKIMA FIRING CENTER
| USA
| INTELSAT, Pacific
| NSA
| WAIHOPAI
| NEW ZEALAND
| INTELSAT, Pacific
| NSA, GCSB
| GERALDTON
| AUSTRALIA
| INTELSAT, Pacific
| NSA, DSD
|
|
|
|
| MENWITH HILL
| UK
| Sat, Groundstation, Microwave(land based)
| NSA, GCHQ
| SHOAL BAY
| AUSTRALIA
| Indonesian Sat
| NSA, DSD
| LEITRIM
| CANADA
| Latin American Sat
| NSA, CSE
| BAD AIBLING
| GERMANY
| Sat, Groundstation
| NSA
| MISAWA
| JAPAN
| Sat
| NSA
|
|
|
|
| PINE GAP
| AUSTRALIA
| Groundstation
| CIA
|
|
|
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| FORT MEADE
| USA
| Dictionary Processing
| NSA Headquarters
| WASHINGTON
| USA
| Dictionary Processing
| NSA
| OTTAWA
| CANADA
| Dictionary Processing
| CSE
| CHELTENHAM
| UK
| Dictionary Processing
| GCHQ
| CANBERRA
| AUSTRALIA
| Dictionary Processing
| DSD
| WELLINGTON
| NEW ZEALAND
| Dictionary Processing
| GCSB Headquarters
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Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is the independent research branch of the U.S. Department of Defense that, among its other accomplishments, funded a project that in time was to lead to the creation of the Internet. Originally called ARPA (the "D" was added to its name later), DARPA came into being in 1958 as a reaction to the success of Sputnik, Russia's first manned satellite. DARPA's explicit mission was (and still is) to think independently of the rest of the military and to respond quickly and innovatively to national defense challenges.
In the late 1960s, DARPA provided funds and oversight for a project aimed at interconnecting computers at four university research sites. By 1972, this initial network, now called the ARPAnet, had grown to 37 computers. ARPANet and the technologies that went into it, including the evolving Internet Protocol (IP) and the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), led to the Internet that we know today.
http://www.darpa.mil
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National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ)
Incepted in 1971, The NASDAQ Stock Market was the world's first electronic stock market and has since attracted many technology companies from countries all over the world, some of them as legendary as Apple, Inc. and Microsoft, Inc., e.g., to go public. NASDAQ is the largest stock market in the world.
http://www.nasdaq.com
http://www.nasdaq.com/
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