Edelman

Edelman has launched its eighth global practice, Business + Social Purpose, which will bring together the CSR, sustainability, and citizenship areas under one umbrella. The new practice will be led by global practice chair Carol Cone, who will work with regional leaders and 125 staffers to serve companies, NGOs, nonprofits, and other organizations.

The practice will provide services including brand and corporate citizenship strategies, reputation and image management, and sustainability. Clients include Adobe, Brita, PNC Financial Services, and Southwest Airlines.

Besides the services offered to others, the firm launched Edelman Citizenship in July of last year, which published its first Global Citizenship Report and donated $5.1 million in cash and pro bono services.

After the jump, we’ve got a few infographics with results from the 2012 Edelman goodpurpose study.

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Edelman has launched a global CEO and executive position offering that will help execs with external relations and branding, organize speaking engagements and other face-to-face opportunities, and provide media training and other preparations for appearances.

Justin Blake, previously MD of Edelman’s corporate and public affairs group in New York, will serve as global head of executive positioning.  Edelman has had executive services, but, Blake told us via email, “we now have a global, unified approach to this work that enables us to share best practices, approaches, and expertise across the network.”

The move is based on Trust Barometer findings that show CEO credibility has taken a dip to 38 percent.

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Edelman has used the findings from its own 2012 Trust Barometer to shift its internal relations practice to an employee engagement focus.

The Trust Barometer found that 50 percent believe employees are reliable sources of information about their companies. With that in mind, the employee engagement practice will zero in on ways to connect employees with the company, each other, and the public.

Strategies and services will focus on ways to use social media and intranets for comms purposes, content development, research and measurement via StrategyOne, and more. The practice will be led by Christopher Hannegan, EVP in Chicago, and Nick Howard, a director in London. Both execs are being promoted to practice chairs in the U.S. and EMEA respectively. Hannegan goes into further detail in the video above. Note: We like the lamp.

Results from Edelman‘s study “Privacy & Security: The New Drivers of Brand, Reputation and Action Global Insights 2012″ show that people are growing more concerned about data security and privacy. Of the 4,050 adults (18 years and older) who were surveyed, 68 percent say they think they’ve lost control over the ways that businesses use and share their information.

The study also found that about half of people shopping for a personal computer or smartphone, and 42 percent of those shopping for a tablet take data security into consideration before making a purchase.

These results cut across all industries and can have an impact on customer loyalty.

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Daniel J. Edelman Inc (DJE) announced this morning that it has promoted Alan VanderMolen to vice chairman of the Edelman holding company. The move is an effort to build on the business’ holding company model with PR as the focus.

Looking back, Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman and executive chairman of DJE, points out that “DJE was the original name of the company.” Over the years, Edelman has come to the forefront. Now, the company wants to diversify. Doing that requires “activating the holding company.”

“We want to make it clear to the marketplace that we want to compete with Omnicom, et. al. But they put at their center their advertising business and we put PR at the center,” said Edelman.

“We’re unique in being a PR-centered holding company. We’re an example for all the rest,” Edelman added.

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Edelman has expanded its presence overseas with two acquisitions.

The firm is taking its first steps into the Vietnamese market with the purchase of AVC Communications. Once the firm has government approval, the new company will be known as AVC Edelman.

AVC Communications was founded in 2000 and has a staff of 35 focused on various industries (healthcare, technology, and consumer electronics among them) across PR, public affairs, and digital services.

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Edelman has announced a number of leadership changes this morning.

Matthew Harrington has been named global COO, a new position at the firm, effective July 1. In this role, he’ll oversee the company’s four regions (United States, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Canada/Latin America), chair the Conflict Management Committee, and manage the legal, IT, and HR areas. He’ll also continue to manage the global practices, clients, businesses, and finance operations. We’re tired just thinking about it.

“At moments, it can appear daunting,” Harrington told us over the phone this morning. But Harrington says he’s an “Edelman vet” (he’s been with the firm for 28 years) and he’s worked with firm president and CEO Richard Edelman for decades, so they have a well-established working relationship.

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Vitamin and supplement retailer GNC has chosen Edelman as its AOR after a search that began last fall. The work won’t overlap with the financial comms services provided by Marketcom.

GNC went public in April and has seen its stock price rise nearly 80 percent according to EVP and CMO Jeff Hennion.

[via Ad Age]

Trust in government fell nine points to 43 percent internationally, according to 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer. The result shows clearly that citizens around the world have little faith in the government’s ability to do what needs to be done in the wake of political and economic upheaval.

A total of 25 countries were surveyed. In 17, less than half of respondents think the government will do what’s right. In a dozen, including France, China, and Japan, trust in government fell more than 10 points. And across the broader swath of the population, almost half say they don’t trust the government to tell the truth.

“What we saw around the world was that government didn’t step up and do its job,” Ben Boyd, Edelman‘s global chair of the corporate practice, told us this morning. In the U.S. Boyd said the “inaction and friction between Congress and the President” was a big problem.

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One of the perks of a PR job is the chance to travel far and wide. And, there are likely many publicists out there considering a move abroad, whether temporary or permanent.

PR firms are focused on building their businesses in Asia, opening up opportunities not just with new clients, but for firm staffers. But making that move is a huge decision.

After the jump, we have a Q&A with Sara Donaldson, Edelman‘s manager of comms and business development in Asia Pacific. She’s been in Beijing for about two years and talks about making the transition, the differences in the work, and how government control of the media affects her work.

Click through for more.

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