Communications & New Media May 2016 Vol 30 No 5 May 2016 | www.odwyerpr.com

REPORT
Healthcare, tech, financial PR grew most in 2015
PR firms of all sizes revealed robust growth last year, but it was the healthcare, technology and financial
PR practices that accounted for the biggest gains in the industry in 2015, according to O’Dwyer’s ranking
of PR firms. The best performance goes to Washington, D.C.‘s Spectrum, led by John Seng, which was
the leading gainer in O’Dwyer’s Top 25, revealing growth of more than 83 percent.
By Jack O’Dwyer
More than 120 PR firms participated
in O’Dwyer’s 2016 rankings, revealing
net fee and employee totals
with 2015 income tax and W-3 forms.
Spectrum was leading gainer
Spectrum’s 83.5 percent gain to $14.8
million was the biggest among the top 25
firms in the O’Dwyer rankings.
The firm, specializing in healthcare public
relations and public affairs, celebrated
its 20th anniversary this year, winning “a
number of global marquee accounts and
expanded its footprint beyond Washington,
D.C., to New York City and Atlanta,”
said CEO John Seng.
“We added team members at all levels
and welcomed some of the PR industry’s
most respected senior
communications counselors
to its leadership
team,” Seng said.
“We’ve got a unique
value proposition that’s
attracting innovative
health, life science and
consumer companies
as well as world-class
talent,” said Jonathan John Seng
Wilson, President.
“Our teams work across
the divergent worlds of trendy, consumer
brands and high science pharmaceutical
products, bringing a unique combination
of scientific rigor and contemporary
smarts.”
New leadership team members include
EVPs Leslie Wheeler, Robert Oquendo and
Al Jackson, and SVPs Denise Chappell and
Susan Francis.
Seng credits the agency’s recent success
to Wilson, whom he recruited in 2014, as
well as to new senior hires and long-term
O’Dwyer’s rakings of PR firms, pg. 56
team members who have served Spectrum
clients for more than a dozen years.
Spectrum is the Chair and Americas hub
for GLOBALHealthPR, a worldwide partnership
of independently owned and operated
health and science communications
agencies.
Global consumer, biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies find the partnership’s
insight-led, choice model business
partnership and presence in 42 countries
to be the ideal fit for their global
communications initiatives, said Seng.
Spectrum and the network added several
new clients in 2015, leading to “significant
growth and the opportunity to add leaders
across the team.”
Racepoint Global rose 7.2 percent
Boston’s Racepoint Global, with practice
areas in technology, healthcare, life sciences,
consumer, public policy and public affairs,
rose to No. 12 as revenues gained 7.2
percent to $29.2 million.
Headed by Larry Weber as Chairman
and Peter Prodromou as President, the
firm says its proprietary
software, FieldFacts,
enables it’s identify and
target influencers and
deliver “a new kind of
accountability based
on our ability to better
understand customers
of clients, their psychology,
and how they
consume information.”
“Armed with this intelligence,
we give our
Larry Weber
clients PR, advertising and precision-marketing
campaigns that speak to the right
people at the right time,” said Weber. “Then
we dare to measure performance and report
how many times high-level influencers
have acted on behalf of clients.”
Racepoint also has offices in San Francisco,
Washington, D.C., London, Beijing,
Hong Kong and Shanghai.
5W moves to no. 18
5WPR’s 13.2 percent growth to $21.5 million
boosted it to No. 18 on the Top 25 list.
“We saw significant expansion in our
consumer, corporate and technology practices,”
said CEO and Founder Ronn Torossian.
Strong organic growth showed that the
firm is meeting client goals by providing
expertise in social and digital media, design,
research, metrics and influencer programming,
he said.
“We not only began working with new,
great partners in 2015,
but we were able to take
many of our existing
programs to the next
level for clients agency-wide,”
he added.
“We are fortunate to
have many long-term
client relationships and
to be able to expand
our campaigns in ways
that truly add value
to their businesses,
Ronn Torossian
whether through digital programs or providing
research and metrics that inform
marketing decisions.”
As a multi-divisional agency, 5WPR has
been structuring cross-agency teams comprised
of experts within its technology division
and consumer team. It represents
two ranked unicorn companies, 2015’s
Inc. 5000 #1 Fastest Growing Company
and two businesses listed on the New York
Times’ Top Fintech companies.
Prosek shoots for Bottom Line
Prosek Partners, one of the fastest growing
firms in the Top 25 with a jump of 20
percent to $24.4 million, told O’Dwyer’s
that PR must have “a bottom-line benefit”
for clients. It credits the firm’s growth to its
“signature creativity and
‘unboxed communications’
approach.” Revenue
has climbed nearly
40 percent since 2013.
Key practice areas
expanded include asset
management, professional
services, alternatives,
transactions and
issues management,
Jen Prosek and financial technology.
Prosek’s transactions team took part in
deals valued at $30.5 billion in 2015. Adding
expertise to the firm’s transactions and
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