Burson-Marsteller:
Social Media
Agency Study
Alyssa Lowry & Sean O'Brien
The Basics: History
•
•
•
Started as Harold Burson Public Relations,
founded in 1946
Merged with Marsteller Gebhardt & Reed Ad
Agency in 1953 after a meeting between
Harold Burson and Bill Marsteller
Became largest PR firm in the world in 1983
The Basics: Practices
• Public Relations
• Public Affairs/Government Relations
• Corporate Positioning
• Crisis Management
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Opinion Research
• Digital Marketing
• Organizational Communications
• Brand Marketing
BM Structure: Staff
•
Regional Offices:
New York
o Miami
o Hong Kong
o Brussels
o
•
•
73 offices and 83 affiliate offices, together
operating in 110 countries
Over 2,000 employees globally
Clients of Burson-Marsteller
What Makes Burson-Marsteller Different
o Harold Burson
o "One firm around the world"
o Evidence-based approach
Distinguishing Characteristics
EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
Social Media Methods
EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
Metrics
EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
Metrics
Social Media
Audits
Social Media
Check-Up
Community
Maps
Competitive
Analysis
EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
Case Studies
o National Energy Institute (2011)
- Address public concern about nuclear energy
Case Studies
o The Royal British Legion (2010)
- Appeal to “digital generation” about
The Legion’s work supporting troops
2012 Awards in Social Media
PR Daily:
o Best use of Twitter
o Best Listening and Media Monitoring Program
o Best Social Media Campaign
o Best Use of Social Media in a Crisis
PR News:
o B-M Chief Global Digital Strategist Dallas Lawrence
Social Media Professional of the Year
Working at Burson-Marsteller
•
Harold Burson Summer Internship Program
How to get hired, according to Harold Burson
Smart
Self-starter
Good communicator and writer
Teamwork
•
•
•
•
The Fundamentals
• Listen first
• Be responsive
• Be honest
• Provide value
• Sell last
Social Media Marketing
“Exceeding customer expectations, often but not
always, in the online world, through human
connection and relationship building.”
• Guide for businesses on
•
how to build, cultivate, and
measure success on these
new platforms
Specific examples on how
to build effective blogs,
podcasts, wikis, livecasts,
twitter accounts, and other
forms of social media
• I especially enjoyed for tips I could use for
government agency