Book of the Night Awardsview Book of the Night Homepage
Consultancy of the year
WINNER
Blue Rubicon
Steve Easterbrook, president and chief executive of McDonald's UK, says he has been 'extremely impressed' with Blue Rubicon's ability to tell his 'company's story' this year. And so too, it seems, have most of Blue Rubicon's other clients.
Ninety per cent of the agency's 2005 income came from retained clients (the likes of ITV, KPMG, Unilever, Network Rail and the Metropolitan Police), with customer satisfaction averaging four out of five across 20 evaluation criteria. But what has clearly worked for existing clients has also helped the agency attract a wealth of new business - more than £1.2m worth during 2005.
In 2005 this contributed to a fee income rise of 49 per cent, a figure which took the agency past the £3m mark. A total of 24 new clients joined the agency in 2005 and, according to the COI, the agency had a record-breaking debut year on its roster, winning briefs for the Department for Communities & Local Government, the Learning and Skills Council, Cycle England, the police and the NHS. Among the agency's best-performing division was its crisis and media training unit.
It doubled its revenues for the second year running, and this year Blue Rubicon is well on target for breaking the £4m mark for fee income. In 2005 it even managed an industry-busting £118,000 in fee income per head.
But it is the agency's growing reputation for expertise that also impressed the awards judges. During 2005/06, two directors were invited to join government advisory panels: one in education, and one on London Resilience, the organisation set up to prepare London for catastrophic events such as 7/7.
Blue Rubicon's commitment to strengthening the skill-base of its employees is evident in its promotion of nine members of staff - a quarter of the workforce - in the past 18 months, and the recent doubling of its employee training budget.
Only one member of staff has left the agency since 2003, and this year Blue Rubicon launched 'Thinkubation' - training specifically focusing on creative development.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Four Communications
In five years, Four Communications has grown to become a serious player in the integrated PR market.
After launching a travel PR team in 2005, it swiftly won briefs with Club Med, Gulf Air, SAS and bmi (trade). It also opened an office in Bahrain to complement its office in Dubai.
Its PA team is recognised as one of the biggest specialists with fee income expected to grow from £1.45m in 2005 to £2m by the end of the year. In 2005, client retention stood at 94 per cent, revenue growth was 29 per cent, and profits rose by 57 per cent on the year before.
FINALISTS
Edelman
Frank PR
Octopus
Click here to see the interview with the winner
