APCO Worldwide
APCO Worldwide was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1984 by Margery Kraus who is president and chief executive officer. [1].
APCO has offices is headquartered in Washington D.C. and has offices in 24 locations in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and employs approximately 400 people. [2]
"Core services include corporate, investor and internal communication, crisis management, issue management, government relations, litigation communication, media relations, coalition building, opinion research, market entry, corporate social responsibility and online communication," it states on its website.
Ownership
In September 2004 APCO announced that it had completed a management buyout by approximately 40 senior staff from its former owner Grey Global.[3]
History
In an internal 1993 budget review document for the Philip Morris Group of companies, APCO Associates was penciled in for $500,000 as a "corporate affairs consultant." On behalf of the tobacco industry and other corporate clients, it has created a number of industry front groups, including The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition and the American Tort Reform Association.
The Accompanying description was "APCO is a tort consultant to PMMC, a consultant on animal rights issues to PMMC (G. Knox) and an ETS consultant to PM USA (E Merlo). Neal Cohen is the principal account executive on the PM Tort Project and has been in this position since at least 1988. Our tort contract with APCO currently has them assisting the PM family, national and state tort coalitions and other tort reform advocates with political, communications and grassroots strategies and related programs”.[4]
Honors
APCO was named 2003 International Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report, a PR industry newsletter. In 2004, it was listed as one of the top PR firms by The Hill, a Washington, DC newspaper.
U.S. Government PR Contracts
According to the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Minority Office, APCO received the following amounts per year, for federal PR contracts: [5]
- $246,946 in 2004
International Clients
In July 2004, O'Dwyers PR Daily reported that APCO Worldwide had been hired by the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information on a six-month contract to promote stronger ties with the U.S. government. The Indonesia account is handled by Barry Schumacher, who told O'Dwyer's that after the Indonesian Presidential election on September 20, APCO would organise a tour of the country's leaders to Washington, D.C. [6]
"The group will talk about diplomatic ties, democratic reform and cooperation on the terror front," O'Dwyers reported.
Insight
As part of a five-year research project, through its opinion research division, Insight, APCO carried out an extensive survey on corporate social responsibility (or CSR) in 2004. The survey, which included more than 400 "opinion elites" - members of the top 10 percent of society, with regard to media consumption, civic engagement, and interest in public policy issues - in 10 countries, found that people's consumption patterns are influenced by CSR efforts. "Positive CSR information has led 72% of the respondents to purchase a company's product or services and 61% to recommend the company to others. Conversely, negative CSR news has led 60% to a boycott a company's products and services," reported PR Week. [7]
Based on its survey, APCO Insight Vice-President Chrystine Zacherau suggested that companies "shape the opinion environment" by touting their own CSR efforts, "as opposed to fearing the impact of [negative] information from external organizations. ... Communicating about CSR does have positive effects for corporations," Zacherau stressed. However, the survey also found that "91 percent of respondents found CSR more credible when verified by a third-party such as a non-governmental organization or local government." [8]
Personnel
- Alisa Harrison Vice President, former director of communications for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Donald Riegle, a former Democratic senator from Michigan
- Steve Solarz, a former Democratic congressman from New York
- Don Bonker, a former Democratic congressman from Washington state
- Mickey Edwards, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma
- Peter Hannaford, former public relations/ communications adviser to Ronald Reagan
- Chrystine Zacherau
- Bob Dole
Clients
According to APCO its client list includes "clients include governments, corporations, industry associations and non-profit organizations. APCO also includes among its clients six of the top 10 companies on Fortune's Global 500," it states. [9]
This client list includes both past and present clients and is compiled from selected clients listed on APCO's website, O'Dwyers PR Daily, Holmes Report and miscellaneous sources.
- Alaska Airlines
- American Tort Reform Association
- Association of Distributive Environmental Bodies
- Avis
- Baxter Healthcare Corporation
- British Airways
- Business Software Alliance (BSA)
- British Entertainment and Discotheque Association (BEDA)
- Cable & Wireless
- California Alliance for Energy & Economic Stability
- California Building Industry Association
- The California Endowment
- CGNU Insurance
- Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security
- Consumer Discount Campaign in Germany
- Dow Corning
- Employers' Coalition on Medicare
- Futures Group Europe
- GlobeXplorer
- Global Business Leaders Alliance Against Counterfeiting
- Government of Canada
- The government of Turkey
- Harrah's New Orleans Casino
- HBOS
- Immunex Corporation - Novantrone
- International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Associations
- Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Information[10]
- Johnson & Johnson
- Lufthansa Airlines
- Mercedes-Benz
- Merck Sharp & Dohme
- Microsoft
- National Association of Town Watch (NATW)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Nokia
- Norilsk Nickel
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals - Glivec
- Pfizer
- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
- Philip Morris
- Procter & Gamble LLC
- Raytheon
- Roche
- STERIS Corporation
- Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC)
- The Restaurant Association
- Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency
- STERIS Corporation
- Thames Water
- Transport & General Workers Union (T&G)
- The Vaccine Fund
- United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)
- USCS International, Inc.
- Washington Health Care Association
- World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
- WorldCom, Inc. [11]
- Yukos Oil[12]
Contact information
APCO Worldwide
700 12th St. N.W., Suite 800
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 778-1000
Email: information AT apcoworldwide.com
Web: http://www.apcoworldwide.com/
Other SourceWatch resources
External links
APCO to restore trust in Russian oil company]", O'Dwyers PR Daily, August 21, 2001.
- "Boeing Lands at APCO", O’Dwyers PR Daily, September 21, 2001.
- "Bush Rides high, scares environmentalists", O’Dwyers PR Daily, January 23, 2002.
- "Grey Loses $28.6M", O’Dwyers PR Daily, March 14, 2002.
- "Turkey praises U.S. lobbying", O’Dwyers PR Daily, April 3, 2003.
- "NFTC hires APCO", O’Dwyers PR Daily, May 6, 2003.
- "APCO helps clients get piece of Iraqi action", O’Dwyers PR Daily, May 23, 2003.
- "APCO reps Yukos", O’Dwyers PR Daily, September 12, 2003.
- "APCO seeks recognition, $$$ for Indonesia", O’Dwyers PR Daily, November 25, 2003.
- "APCO guides Mongolia", O’Dwyers PR Daily, May 26, 2004.
- "PhRMA's Mattingly Joins APCO", Holmes Report, June 22, 2004.
- "Pfizer hires APCO for drug discount card", O’Dwyers PR Daily, June 29, 2004.
- "APCO touts Indonesia", O’Dwyers PR Daily, July 28, 2004.
- Keith O'Brien, "APCO's study finds consumption impacted by CSR policies," PR Week, September 13, 2004.
- Margery Kraus, accessed June 13, 2004.
- Philip Morris, “Corporate Affairs: corporate cost review, Bates No 2046996735, July 1993 (estimated), page 4.
- "Public Relations: Best of the Best," The Hill, June 24, 2004.
- Hamilton Nolan, "APCO completes management buyout", PR Week, September 28, 2004.
- "APCO Guides PR for Social Security reform Push", PR Week, February 18, 2005. (Sub req'd.)