The worldwide collaborative network of PR firms, Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI), continues to grow in key markets around the world. The organization announced it recently added four more member firms, expanding the roster to 29 agencies in 11 countries.

“The day of the boutique firm has arrived, since even the largest companies now hire very small agencies for some of their PR work”
The new firms are:

“The day of the boutique firm has arrived, since even the largest companies now hire very small agencies for some of their PR work,” said PRBI president Lucy Siegel, CEO of Bridge Global Strategies in New York. “This has encouraged the flight of senior executives from large agencies – they want to get back to actually working with clients again and applying their skills and experience as entrepreneurs. But they miss camaraderie with colleagues who are not competitors, and they need a global network to serve their clients. PRBI offers both.”

Siegel added, “Our network of hand-picked colleagues in 29 cities around the world is hugely advantageous to the individual members as well as our many clients and we look forward to additional expansion in the coming year.”

The network is holding its third Annual General Meeting in Dublin, Ireland in April 2010 where the members from around the world will gather to exchange ideas and best practices with each other, attend a variety of seminars and elect a new board of directors.

About PR Boutiques International:

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 and investor relations. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards, with qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists. They also represent memberships in noteworthy international public relations and business associations. For information, visit http://prboutiques.com.

Contact:
High View Communications
Ann Gallery, 416-322-5897, ext. 222
agallery@highviewcommunications.com

The worldwide collaborative network of PR firms, Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI), continues to grow in key markets around the world. The organization announced it recently added four more member firms, expanding the roster to 29 agencies in 11 countries.

The new firms are:

“The day of the boutique firm has arrived, since even the largest companies now hire very small agencies for some of their PR work,” said PRBI president Lucy Siegel, CEO of Bridge Global Strategies in New York. “This has encouraged the flight of senior executives from large agencies – they want to get back to actually working with clients again and applying their skills and experience as entrepreneurs. But they miss camaraderie with colleagues who are not competitors, and they need a global network to serve their clients. PRBI offers both.”

Siegel added, “Our network of hand-picked colleagues in 29 cities around the world is hugely advantageous to the individual members as well as our many clients and we look forward to additional expansion in the coming year.”

The network is holding its third Annual General Meeting in Dublin, Ireland in April 2010 where the members from around the world will gather to exchange ideas and best practices with each other, attend a variety of seminars and elect a new board of directors.

About PR Boutiques International:

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 and investor relations. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards, with qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists. They also represent memberships in noteworthy international public relations and business associations. For information, visit http://www.prboutiques.com.

Like-minded PR firms band together to create opportunities in down times

New York, Oct. 20, 2009 – The worldwide collaborative network of PR firms, Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI), continues to see rapid growth. The organization announced that in recent months it has added eight more member firms, expanding the roster to 29 agencies in 11 countries.
The new firms include:

Doubling membership, PRBI launches efficient new website and logo

New York, Oct. 14, 2009 – Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI) unveiled a new web site and logo today that reflect the rapid growth of the organization as well as its global expansion.

PRBI’s new site features an interactive map where visitors may easily and dynamically access information about the organization’s members. Firms hale from all around the world including Europe, Asia, North America and South America. The new logo conveys the sophistication, reach and power of boutique agencies sharing resources and best practices.

Membership has grown from 12 to 29 agencies in less than two years. “Our new website is easier to navigate, and is a useful tool to reach both prospective members in areas where we are not yet represented and also potential clients,” said Lucy Siegel, president, PRBI (and president/CEO, Bridge Global Strategies LLC in New York.).

The new site was developed by RM Corporate Communication in England. The logo was designed by Alchemy PR & Marketing in Phoenix, Ariz. “Our members are pleased with the elegance of both the web site and the logo,” Siegel commented. “We hope the site will draw a multitude of visitors and help us increase the visibility of our organization.”

About PR Boutiques International:

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 http://www.prboutiques.com

Second annual meeting rolls out five year plan

New York, 20 May, 2009 – At their second annual meeting in Los Angeles last week, the only international network of boutique PR firms decided to

Organizations manage their operations in distant or multiple geographical markets in a variety of ways, and we have worked with most of them. That means we can easily match reporting and responsibility structures precisely to our clients’ individual needs.

Most often, one of our members acts as team leader and is responsible to the client for the success of the work, briefing other members, coordinating their programs, controlling budgets and reporting back to the client. This provides clients with a simple one-to-one system of overview, control and billing.
Our members are also happy to report to and bill clients in their own markets, where this fits the client’s working methods better.

All such systems and structures are agreed at the outset of the program to ensure clarity and accountability. Any work a member undertakes for another member’s client, no matter how small, is formally briefed, budgeted and a measure of success clearly stated.

Crucially, when creating a program, we start with the results our clients seek – not the means of achieving them. Effective techniques vary considerably from market to market and culture to culture, and our task is to deliver results, not work through standardized PR algorithms.

It is in this context that our people “on the ground” are vital to success – they will always know more about their home markets than “outsiders.”
For more information about Public Relations Boutiques International, please contact Lucy Siegel, President:

Email: lucy@bridgeny.com Telephone: + 1 646-607-4492

Growing Network Links Capabilities of 21 PR Firms in 11 Countries

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2008 – Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI), a worldwide collaborative network of boutique public relations firms, has expanded its membership again with the appointment of six new agencies from around the globe.
PRBI was established by 12 founding members in early 2008 to jointly pursue international business opportunities and provide an extended range of services to each member firm’s clients. PRBI now offers the comprehensive capabilities of 21 experienced public relations firms in 11 countries.

The newly appointed network members are: gbc Public Relations Ltd., Dublin; Leinweber Associates, Boston; Lone Star Communications, Jerusalem; Mind the Gap Comunicacion, Madrid; Red PR, New York City; and TEAG Advisors AG, Grabs and Olten, Switzerland.
“The rapid growth of our network in this first year accurately reflects the migration of U.S. and international companies away from oversized PR agencies to boutique firms that do a better job of delivering superior service and direct access to seasoned public relations executives,” said network president Lucy Siegel, CEO of Bridge Global Strategies in New York City. “This trend is fueling the success of our member firms and creating additional opportunities for cooperative, international programs for PRBI.”
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. Additional members elected earlier this year are: Prima Public Relations Ltd., Cleveland; PHPR, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Omnes Imperium, Moscow.

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.

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.

Answers Worldwide Demand for Experienced Firms Offering Quality, Personalized Service from Senior Counselors

NEW YORK, February 4, 2008 – In response to global demand for more seasoned, hands-on public relations counselors with international expertise, 12 “boutique” public relations firms from around the world have joined forces to create a collaborative network with comprehensive public relations capabilities. The newly formed Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI) will jointly pursue international new business opportunities as well as partner to provide an extended range of services to each member firm’s clients.
PRBI’s founding members have offices in the US, UK, Canada, China, Japan and Korea. They 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 (headquarters), 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.

PRBI offers clients several advantages over large multinational PR firms and other networks. “We are all senior counselors and offer clients the benefit of years of experience and expertise in our fields. Most of us have worked for large and mid-size agencies and know the shortcomings for clients in those settings,” said Lucy Siegel, president and CEO of Bridge Global Strategies, New York, who was elected president of the group for its first year. “Clients of large agencies are too often assigned to junior and inadequately supervised personnel. We started our companies to provide clients with hands-on work by seasoned professionals. We are oriented to producing meaningful client results. Our lower billing rates reflect our overhead; not those of big, top-heavy agencies with distant shareholders.“
“Big agencies may market their ‘wholly owned networks’ as an advantage, but the people in those networks many times have never met or worked together. We’ve built a global team. We know each other and make time to meet and collaborate on many levels,” added Bill Cowen, the group’s vice president and president of Metrospective Communications in Philadelphia. “As a network, we collectively offer an extensive array of professional services, but we’re free to go outside our network if need be. We have the best of both scenarios, so the big winner is always the client – and that’s what’s most important to all of us.”
To provide seamless client service to an ever-expanding global marketplace, PRBI plans to increase its membership. “Our bylaws require that each new member be approved by every other member, and we are placing the bar high for approving new member applications. We are all acutely aware that the members we vote to accept now are the people we will rely on later to help us serve our clients,” Siegel said.

Other officers elected by the group for the first year include: Secretary: David Watson, president of Campaignteam, Sussex, U.K.; Treasurer: Ann Gallery, president of High View Communications, Toronto; and Member at Large: Nancy Choi, C.J.’s World Public Relations & Communications, Seoul.

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.