Insights & Strategy

Ruder Finn's Kathy Bloomgarden: A PR Profile

This 2011 EPR interview with Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn, was conducted at the firm's Switzerland offices in her first year as CEO. Fifteen years on, Bloomgarden is still in the role — one of the longest-tenured agency leaders in global PR. She was inducted into both the 2025 PRWeek Hall of Fame and the 2025 ICCO Hall of Fame, and the firm she leads was named 2026 PRWeek Outstanding Large Agency. What she said in 2011 about trust, ethics, leadership, and Ruder Finn's global posture reads now as the through-line of the strategy she has executed over a decade and a half.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

PR Firms Involved With Polluters of Climate: Edelman PR, Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum PR & More

In January 2016, the Corporate Europe Observatory's "Climate Smokescreen" report named Edelman, Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum, Havas Paris, and Omnicom's GPlus as agencies of record for European fossil fuel interests during the run-up to the Paris Climate Agreement. The ethics question that was sticky in 2016 is structural in 2026.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

Pepsi's Reinvention Machine: Four Decades of Built-In Adaptation

PepsiCo built a system for change four decades ago. Four reinvention rules — retire and replace, portfolio over brand, cohort over flavor, snack-funded experimentation — that have kept the company adapting faster than its category.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

Rubenstein Public Relations (RPR): PR Firm Profile

Rubenstein Public Relations (RPR) is an independent New York City-based public relations and communications firm led by President Richard Rubenstein. RPR is a separate firm from Rubenstein (formerly Rubenstein Associates / Rubenstein Communications), the Howard Rubenstein-founded firm now led by Steven Rubenstein. Shared family heritage; separate operations.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

Teneo: PR Firm Profile

Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm founded in June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band, and Paul Keary. CVC Capital Partners-majority-owned since 2019; LGT Capital Partners minority since August 2025 ($2.3B valuation). 1,600+ employees across 40+ offices. CEO Paul Keary; Chairwoman Ursula Burns.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

FleishmanHillard: PR Firm Profile

FleishmanHillard is one of the largest global communications agencies, founded 1946 in St. Louis by Alfred Fleishman and Robert E. Hillard. Owned by Omnicom since 1997. President and CEO J.J. Carter; Americas CEO Jillian Janaczek. HQ relocated to Clayton, MO in 2024. Absorbed Porter Novelli as dedicated brand February 2026.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

Mohammed Bin Salman and the Saudi Perception Machine

How Saudi Arabia rebranded itself — PIF as a brand vehicle, LIV Golf, Newcastle, F1, the Esports World Cup, NEOM, AlUla, HUMAIN, and the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The Saudi perception machine in 2026.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman: The Throne, Reforms & PR

The reform ledger of Mohammed bin Salman, updated for 2026 — what changed inside Saudi Arabia, what it cost, what ordinary Saudis lived, and the PR architecture that made the project legible to the world.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

Sara Lee vs. Pepperidge Farm: How Two American Food Icons Took Opposite Paths

Sara Lee and Pepperidge Farm are two of America's most recognizable food brands. Both built household names on baked goods. One stayed intact under a stable parent for 60+ years. The other was broken apart and sold across three owners. Here's the full comparison.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026

Insights & Strategy

American Express: How a 175-Year-Old Brand Built One of the Most Durable Premiums in Financial Services

American Express has spent 175 years building one of the most durable brand premiums in financial services. Inside the Centurion mystique, the Small Business Saturday franchise, the closed-loop network advantage, and what AmEx's PR playbook means for financial services brands in the AI Communications era.

EPR Editorial Team · Jun 3, 2026