PR Week Global Report Card: Ketchum Pleon Focus

It was a seminal year for Ketchum’s international "hub" office in London, which recently saw the ascension of Avril Lee to CEO, replacing David Gallagher who was promoted to CEO of Europe and Chair of London.

Even in the midst of turbulent economic times, the consultancy managed to grow and attract great talent, earning a top 10 Best Places to Work in the UK spot; a "silver" in this Global Report and claimed "gold" when it was awarded International Consultancy of the Year by the PRWeek Awards. P&G global external relations director for beauty Nicholas Hotham (and awards juror) says: 'The agency's fresh thinking, strategic insights and exemplary execution allow the PR discipline to contribute at the highest levels of business and organisational strategy.'

Two years have passed since one of the largest mergers in PR history, between Ketchum and Pleon. But the agency has not rested on its laurels.

In the past 18 months, it has acquired three PR businesses in the growing economies of Russia, India and Brazil, and formed Ketchum Raad in the Middle East. The agency now operates in more than 70 countries and has 100 offices.

Of Ketchum’s top 25 clients, 76 per cent work with at least eight Ketchum offices or specialities. Clients such as IBM, Kodak, P&G and Philips work with 10 or more. For example, Ketchum is one of P&G’s strategic global partner PR agencies. Its role ranges from global strategy to local implementation for more than 15 beauty and household brands from Olay and Max Factor to Head & Shoulders and Fairy.

The agency has added Ariel to its Western Europe portfolio as well as Camay, its first assignment in China. P&G has recognised the agency with a corporate supplier excellence award.

P&G global external relations director for beauty Nicholas Hotham says: ‘The agency’s fresh thinking, strategic insights and exemplary execution allow the PR discipline to contribute at the highest levels of business and organisational strategy.’

The agency also encourages staff to give something back to their local, international, social or industry-related communities through its citizenship programme.

The agency offers staff time valued at more than £1m a year to two organisations: Room to Read and the World Economic Forum (WEF). The forum’s head of media, entertainment and information industries Diana El-Azar says: ‘Ketchum has been a committed and enthusiastic partner in the WEF’s mission to improve the state of the world, deepening its engagement even further in the past year through health and anti-corruption initiatives.’

Most important of all, Ketchum keeps its clients happy. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is an index that identifies the proportion of clients that are extremely likely to recommend the agency. Its score is 35 per cent – typical NPS performers are in the five to 10 per cent range.