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:o New Yorko Miamio Hong Kongo Brussels

• 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

oHarold Burson

o "One firm around the world"

oEvidence-based approach

Distinguishing Characteristics

EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

Social Media Methods

EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

Metrics

EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

Social Media Audits

Community Maps

Competitive Analysis

Metrics

Social Media Check-Up

Case Studies

oNational 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 Twittero Best Listening and Media Monitoring Programo Best Social Media Campaigno 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

“Exceeding customer expectations, often but not always, in the online world, through human connection and relationship building.”

Social Media Marketing

• 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