Public Relations Agency Principals from Six Countries Gather in New York for Three-Day Conference, Workshops

NEW YORK, June 4, 2008 – The principals of boutique public relations firms from six countries gathered in New York last month for the first annual meeting of Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI), a worldwide collaborative network formed to jointly pursue international business opportunities as well as provide an extended range of services to each member firm’s clients. The meeting’s activities included the election of three additional PRBI members by the network’s founding members, bringing the total membership to 15 firms.
The three new firms elected to the network were: Prima Public Relations Ltd., Cleveland; PHPR, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Omnes Imperium Group, Moscow.

The three-day gathering, co-chaired by Wendy Marx, Marx Communications, Trumbull, Conn.; and Shira Miller, Shira Miller Communications, Atlanta; included a series of educational workshops on such timely subjects as international business development, social media strategies that enhance client results, emerging practices for effective human resources, and a lively presentation on agency development by respected public relations author and educator Don Bates, academic director for the PR Master’s degree program at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

“This first meeting of our members from around the globe was an immediate demonstration of the international capabilities we bring to our current and prospective clients,” said network President Lucy Siegel, CEO of Bridge Global Strategies in New York City. “And the opportunity to share business experiences with so many successful public relations practitioners with such diverse backgrounds was particularly valuable to each of us. Several of our members are already collaborating on client work, and we have identified multiple additional opportunities for cooperative, international programs,” she added.

PRBI’s founding members are: Bridge Global Strategies, New York City; Campaignteam, Sussex, U.K.; C.J.’s World Public Relations & Communications, Seoul; High View Communications, Toronto; Japan Public Relations Institute, Tokyo; Lang/Pan/Chan Public Relations, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Beijing; Marx Communications, Trumbull, Conn.; Media & Communications Strategies, Washington, DC; Metrospective Communications, Philadelphia; Scott Phillips + Associates, Chicago; Shira Miller Communications, Atlanta; and Weisberg Communications Company, Salt Lake City.

About PRBI:

Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI) is an international network of boutique public relations firms. The principals of member firms are experienced practitioners who have held senior positions in large PR agencies and/or corporations but now put service first and work directly with clients. PRBI member firms excel in meeting a huge range of client needs in a large number of industries, including corporate public relations, consumer PR, health care PR, investor relations, crisis management, business-to-business PR, economic development PR, not-for-profit, academia, government, financial, technology, legal, multicultural and international PR. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards, with qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists. They also represent memberships in the most noteworthy international public relations and business associations. For more information, visit www.prboutiques.com.