WE (firm)

WE Communications (previously Waggener Edstrom) and commonly known as WE is a global public relations and integrated marketing communications firm often associated with its largest client, Microsoft. The firm was founded in 1983 by Melissa Waggener Zorkin.[3]

WE Communications
TypePrivate
Founded1983 (1983)
HeadquartersSeattle
Number of locations
23 cities[1]
Key people
Melissa Waggener Zorkin, CEO
Revenue$126.6 million (2018)[2]
Number of employees
1000+
Websitehttps://www.we-worldwide.com

History

The Waggener Group was founded in 1983 by Melissa Waggener Zorkin. In 1984, Pam Edstrom joined the firm, which was renamed Waggener Edstrom.[4] Edstrom previously worked for Microsoft, which became one of the agency's first clients.[5]

The firm acquired PR.com in 2001, Maloney & Fox in 2003, Shout Holdings in 2004, Patzer PR in 2012, Buchan in 2016, Red Bridge Consulting and WATATAWA in 2017, Avian Media in 2018 and Codeword in 2019.

In September 2015, the company re-branded as WE Communications.[6]

Pam Edstrom died in March 2017 and later that year was posthumously inducted in the PR Hall of Fame.[7][8]

Services

WE Communications focuses on three sectors — healthcare, consumer and technology.[9][10]

WE Communications services include media relations, corporate and executive communications, digital marketing, creative, social media and content strategy, crisis communications, insights and analytics, corporate social responsibility, brand purpose and reputation.

Notable clients and campaigns

Notable clients include Microsoft, Volvo, Boehringer Ingelheim, VSP, Honeywell, Tencent, Cisco, McDonald's, Tabula Rasa, Brother, Amgen, Gilead, iRobot, RSA, Lenovo, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AT&T and others.

WE Communications is often associated with its work for Microsoft,[11] one of WE Communications' first clients. In WE Communications' early years, its relationship with Microsoft led to it working primarily with other technology companies, before expanding into healthcare, consumer and other sectors.[12]

For more than a decade, WE Communications supported Mercy Corps on a pro-bono basis after CEO Waggener Zorkin took on the client after visiting the Good Shepherd orphanage in Ghana.[13]

In 2007, a WE Communications employee accidentally sent Wired journalist Fred Vogelstein his own thirteen-page briefing sheet. The document included commentary about his reporting and interview style being "tricky" and "sensational...though he would consider them to be balanced and fair."[14][15][16]

In 2018 WE Communications handled the PR for the McDelivery Day 2.0 and was shortlisted for PRWeek Global Award.[17]

Awards
  • In 2010 WE Communications was named the Technology Agency of the Decade by The Holmes Report.[18]
  • In 2015, Volvo's Greatest Interception Ever campaign, executed in partnership with Grey New York, won two Cannes Lions awards as well as the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Campaign.[19][20]
  • In 2016, WE Communications was named one of PRWeek Asia's Best Places to Work in the medium agency category.[21]
  • CEO Melissa Waggener Zorkin was inducted into the PRWeek Hall of Femme in 2017[22] and Pam Edstrom was posthumously elected to the PR Hall of Fame.
  • WE Buchan won the Large PR Agency of the Year Award at the Mumbrella CommsCon Awards in 2018 and 2019.[23]
  • WE Communications was shortlisted for PRWeek U.S.'s Outstanding Large Agency award and for the PRWeek Global Awards' Best Agency in Asia-Pacific in 2019.[24][25]

References
  1. "About Us". WE. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  2. PR Week https://www.prweek.com/article/1582282/we. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. http://everything-pr.com/waggener-edstrom-worldwide-asia/37913/
  4. "Melissa Waggener Zorkin, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide". PRWeek. July 1, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  5. Pasiuk, Laurie (2005). Vault Guide to the Top Advertising & PR Employers. VAULT. p. 144. ISBN 9781581313833.
  6. "Waggener Edstrom Restructures, Rebrands As WE". The Holmes Report. The Holmes Group. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  7. Wingfield, Nick (2017-03-31). "Pamela Edstrom, Who Helped Shape Microsoft's Public Image, Dies at 71". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  8. September 13; 2017. "PRWeek unveils 2017 Hall of Fame class". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. What We Do, Waggener Edstrom, retrieved January 30, 2013
  10. Chupick, Jason (June 23, 2009). "Survey: 86% Feel Corporations Can Address Social Issues". PRNewser. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  11. "Huge companies need as much PR". CNET. September 11, 1996. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  12. "25. Melissa Waggener Zorkin, CEO, president, and founder, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide". PRWeek. July 1, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  13. Wilhelm, Steve (July 13, 2008). "A grateful Melissa Waggener Zorkin helps Mercy Corps". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  14. Macropoulos, Angela (April 3, 2007). "Misfired memo reveals tabs kept on journalists". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  15. Vogelstein, Fred (March 27, 2007). "Microsoft Sends Secret Dossier on Reporter, to Reporter". WIRED. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  16. Arrington, Michael (March 28, 2007). "Microsoft Accidentally Sends Secret File On Journalist, To That Journalist. Oops". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  17. Harrington, John. "PRWeek Global Awards 2019: shortlist revealed". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  18. "PRWeek Global: Global Agency Report Card 2010". PRWeek. October 29, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  19. "Volvo Cars Announces Greatest Interception Ever Winners and Earns Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Campaign". www.media.volvocars.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  20. "Two Cannes PR Lions for Volvo | WE Worldwide". WE Communcations. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  21. Scattergood, Gary. "PRWeek Asia's Best Places to Work Winners in their own words: WE Communications". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  22. staff, PRWeek. "Melissa Waggener Zorkin: PRWeek Hall of Femme 2017". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  23. Dawson, Abigail (2019-03-28). "All the winners of the 2019 CommsCon Awards". Mumbrella. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  24. December 05; 2018. "PRWeek U.S. Awards 2019 Shortlist Revealed". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. Harrington, John. "PRWeek Global Awards 2019: shortlist revealed". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
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