Edelman leads O'Dwyer's ranking of PR firms again, posting $874.9M in 2016 net fees, up 2.4 percent. There was some jostling though at the top with W2O Group ($122.7M, +33 percent) bumping APCO ($120.6M, +1 percent) down to third place.
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Finn Partners ($76.7M, +7.3 percent), ICR ($55.6M, -1.0 percent), and Padilla ($42.4M, -1.9 percent) are joined in the top ten by newcomers Prosek Partners ($31.2M, +28.1 percent), Racepoint Global ($29M, +7.8 percent), Coyne ($27.3M, +26.9 percent), and Fahlgren Mortine ($24.4M, +18.9 percent).
Eighteen of the top 25 firms posted year-over-year gains with 12 showing double-digit growth. Overall, 90 of the 121 ranked firms had a positive change.
O'Dwyer's has the only rankings by PR specialty: agriculture, beauty & fashion, entertainment, environmental & PA, financial & investor relations, food & beverage, healthcare, home furnishings, professional services, sports, technology, and travel & economic development.
Firms are also ranked in 13 key cities/regions such as New York, D.C., Southeast, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Rankings participants were required to submit the top page of the latest corporate income tax return and W-3, establishing them as PR firms rather than ad agencies or other types of businesses. O'Dwyer's is the only ranking that requires this documentation.
Work-life balance is the job perk that matters most to employees at independent agencies, pushing compensation to second place, according to a new study from IPREX.
Law firms express concerns about AI’s authenticity and reputational risk, even though they are rapidly increasing its role in their communications strategies, according to a white paper released by Infinite, which handles professional services PR.
The deadline for O'Dwyer's 2026 rankings of PR firms, a benchmark study of the growth of the industry since 1970, is Mon., Mar. 16, 2026. Show your expertise in 23 PR specialties. Rankings are also tabulated by 14 cities and regions.
The rapid emergence of challenger brands and third-party sellers in the digital marketplace has created a big hurdle for major CPG brands, according to a new report from IPG’s Agentic Systems for Commerce unit.
Amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, PRSA's ICON conference in Wash., D.C., Oct. 28-30 featured a collection of panels exploring the intersection of political communication and PR from a variety of angles, navigating how practitioners can rebuild trust and uphold transparency in an increasingly polarized climate.
