SAN JOSE, CA — Zoom, the video communications platform that has emerged as a defining feature of the pandemic, has selected Zeno as its PR agency in the US and UK, PRovoke Media can reveal.
The shakeup displaces Hotwire, which won the lucrative business last year as the pandemic took hold and Zoom's business surged. The move also comes as the platform repositions, with companies reopening and employees heading back into the office.
"Zoom is a different company than we were a year ago, so we were looking for an agency to up level our PR efforts," Colleen Rodriguez, global PR lead at Zoom told PRovoke Media. "We were a killer app in 2020 and now we’re a platform. We are broadening the scope of who we are and telling the bigger picture."
The platform has become synonymous with the video-conferencing technology that has driven productivity during the pandemic. While the company's customers and revenue continue to thrive, Zoom has introduced new services recently.
Rodriguez said Zeno was chosen for its "wide range of expertise, including thought-leadership, product PR, corporate PR and verticals." The DJE Holdings firm will focus its efforts on three verticals: government, healthcare and education.
Zeno has been working with Zoom since May 1. Fellow DJE firms work with Zoom competitors, Edelman with Microsoft and Revere with Google.
Zoom continues to work with other firms in EMEA, LatAm and APAC, including Hotwire in Spain and the Hoffman Agency in APAC.
"We are proud that Zoom turned to us for support to address the communication challenges posed to its business during the pandemic," Hotwire global CEO Barbara Bates told PRovoke Media. "Throughout the year long project, the team worked around the clock to manage the intense interest the world’s media showed in Zoom. Our work ensured that communications played a pivotal role in building what has been recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands and supported the 382% increase in market capitalization Zoom achieved through 2020."
Zoom's first quarter revenue was up 191% to $956.2 million, according to earnings released earlier this week.
Additional reporting by Arun Sudhaman, Maja Pawinska Sims and Diana Marszalek.