Global Top 10 PR Agency Ranking 2017 | Holmes Report

Top 10 Global
PR Agency Ranking 2017 
Global Top 250 PR Agency Rankings 

2016 2015 Agency HQ Fee Income
2016 ($)
Fee Income
2015 ($)
Growth (Constant Currency)
11Edelman 1USA874,968,000854,576,0004.4%
22Weber Shandwick 2USA825,000,000775,000,0006.5%
33FleishmanHillard 3USA570,000,000570,000,0000.0%
44Ketchum 4USA562,000,000530,000,0006.0%
56MSLGroup 5France485,000,000480,000,0001.0%
6
5Burson-Marsteller 6USA480,000,000480,000,0000.0%
77Hill+Knowlton Strategies 7USA380,000,000385,000,000-1.3%
88Ogilvy PR 8USA361,000,000347,000,0004.0%
99BlueFocus 9China268,675,634244,814,55817.2%
1010Golin 10USA247,000,000227,000,0007.9%

Global PR Agency Rankings 2017: Growth Slows Among Major Networks

Rankings: Top 10 | Top 250 | Holding Groups / Networks
Analysis: Global PR industry growth rebounds to 7%
Research: Global Communications Report

Growth among the major global PR networks slowed in 2016, to just 3.3% compared to 4.4% one year earlier, with the world's top 10 global PR firms reporting fee income of $5.1bn in 2016.

There were some notable exceptions to the pattern, however. Weber Shandwick outshone key rival Edelman by growing at around 7% while Interpublic sibling Golin also grew in the high single-digits, bolstered by the acquisition of Brooklyn Brothers.

Meanwhile, one year after cracking the Top 10, China's BlueFocus Communications continued its impressive growth, up 17% in constant currency terms to $269m, including subsidiaries such as Citizen Relations and We Are Social.

Edelman remains the world's biggest PR firm, although constant currency growth of just 4.4% saw its lead over Weber Shandwick diminish. Edelman's performance was affected by slowing growth in EMEA and Asia-Pacific, along with a 14% decline in Latin America.

Elsewhere, France's MSLGroup leapfrogs Burson-Marsteller to enter the top 5, thanks in part to continued growth from acquisition.

All growth figures are on a reported (rather than organic) basis, with several firms in the top 10 helped by acquisitions. Yet many of the big PR agency networks still struggled to grow, especially at Omnicom and WPP.

Overall, we estimate that the top 10 global PR firms generated fee income of around $5.1bn, a 3.3% increase in reported terms. A fuller picture of global PR industry size is provided by the analysis of our Global Top 250, based on submissions from almost 400 PR firms from across the world.

Date: 24 April 2017

Rankings: Top 10 | Top 250 Holding Groups / Networks
Analysis: Global PR industry growth rebounds to 7%
Research: Global Communications Report