It is an exciting day today at RF towers as we announce the expansion of our business to create an integrated communications offering specifically designed for the high-growth technology industry.

Making the most of our heritage in tech pr and global expertise in innovation, the new division will help companies in the technology industry develop their unique stories and disseminate them through traditional, digital and social media.

Sabrina Guttman will join the agency in a newly created role, Global Head of Technology & Innovation, to lead this practice, reporting to Co-CEO Kathy Bloomgarden. She will oversee technology business in all regions, including the firm’s large footprint in the UK and Asia. She will be based in San Francisco, California.

In London, Emma Sinden has been appointed to lead the UK’s technology practice and will work with Guttman. Formerly with Golin Harris, Sinden’s career has been spent working in enterprise, consumer and mobile technology – most notably heading up the Orange Enterprise, EMC and Infosys accounts. She will focus on growing the division’s client base around its core areas of expertise in B2B, technology, corporation reputation and brand management.

“The innovation coming from the technology industry is driving unprecedented socio-economic change,” said Bloomgarden. “This represents a huge opportunity for companies as they develop new markets, and grow market share with additional offerings. We are seizing this opportunity by expanding our award-winning traditional and interactive communications capabilities into this fast-paced arena. Sabrina’s experience working with some of the industry’s largest brands, combined with her passion for technology, will enable us to further empower Ruder Finn’s capabilities and counsel, offering clients expertise in an area that is critical to their business success.”

Drawing upon 15 years of counsel to brands such as Dell, HP, IBM, SAP and Sun Microsystems, Guttman is widely seen as a strategic communicator in the technology sector. Most recently, Guttman was the General Manager of AxiCom North America, tending to the global strategic needs of their foundational client, Dell Inc. Prior to joining AxiCom, Guttman was the VP of Communications at Business Objects, where she led the communications around SAP’s acquisition of the company. Previously Guttman was at Burson-Marsteller, where she managed the HP Technology Solutions business. She was also a key member of the communications team at both Sun Microsystems and IBM during transformative times in each company’s history.

“The simultaneous growth and consolidation of the technology industry represents a huge opportunity for communications and I am thrilled to be joining Ruder Finn at such a dynamic time,” says Guttman.  “The firm’s existing expertise in creative storytelling as well as its proven experience in traditional and digital communications will be huge assets as we build an offering specifically designed for the needs of this evolving industry.”

Guttman and Sinden will be supported by a highly diversified team of PR professionals with specialties ranging from healthcare technologies and corporate communications to online interfacing will provide a well supported network of expertise to deepen client relationships. The team will be responsible for developing client programs in both the B2B and B2C arenas.

“Technology encroaches on almost every aspect of our lives now, so effective communication has never been more important,” said Sinden. “Ruder Finn has an impressive track record in both traditional and digital communications, and has a history of delivering perception changes for major corporations. In the dynamic and constantly evolving world of technology, this combination of flexibility and proven delivery is exactly what companies need.”

On Sunday 25th April I was actually happy to wake up before 6am and see that it was cool, dreary weather – perfect weather for running a marathon compared to the hot weather that had been forecast. My boyfriend Andy and my Mum were also running and we made our way through London at 7am to join 36,000 fellow runners at Greenwich Park who were ready to get the run over with after four months of training.

My aim was to finish the marathon in under four hours – my PB from my only other marathon in 2008 was 4h09 and I knew I was faster, but anything can happen en route. As the gun went I raced with the crowds and spotted literally hundreds of men including one 12ft giraffe (and one woman squatting) urinating by the side of the road…nice. The first 13 miles went relatively well though too fast – I passed the Virgin caterpillar with Princess Beatrice at mile two and quickly realised I should have had my name on my top from the amount of people cheering everyone on. The sun started to shine, but there were showers and plenty of refreshments every mile to keep everyone hydrated. The only obstacle was not bumping into people and avoiding the discarded plastic bottles.

After the halfway point it was amazing to go over Tower Bridge as the crowds intensified. I didn’t manage to spot any fellow Ruder Finners I knew were watching for me there but it still felt good to know they were watching. I started to relax but also gradually slowed down mile by mile but, as I’d gone off so quickly, I knew I could keep it under four hours if I didn’t stop. After consuming four energy gels by mile 20 I knew there wasn’t far to go and that I could sustain my speed. Running along the Embankment and hearing all the spectators scream and encourage me was a fantastic experience, except feeling sorry for those that were struggling. With the Houses of Parliament in sight I had less than a mile to go and managed to pick up my speed for the final straight. I crossed the line in 3h56.48 and immediately felt thirsty and sick as I was shepherded in line to collect my medal… and finally drink some Lucozade - my saviour. I soon bumped into my Mum (a seasoned marathon runner who has completed the London Marathon nine times) who was only a minute ahead of me and Andy who had finished in 2h53.

I recovered and was able to walk easily within a few days, however apart from a nice glass of wine and a fat burger, I was most happy about raising almost £2,000 for NACC (National Association for Colitis and Crohns). Since my brother Simon was diagnosed with Crohns (a digestive disease) seven years ago, my Mum and I have raised over £6,000 for this very small but important charity to help people managing this horrible disease.

Thanks again to everyone from Ruder Finn who donated more than £350 to the cause.

My next marathon is in Chicago in October when I aim to run under 3h50…can I do it?

Judith will work with team members in London and colleagues worldwide, to build on Ruder Finn’s strong footprint in the areas of pharmaceutical/ life sciences, global advocacy, public affairs and, increasingly, market access and digital health. “Judith’s international background and extensive experience in advocacy, alliance management and CSR is significant to much of our healthcare work at Ruder Finn, both for corporate and non-profit clients.  The strategic insight and leadership experience she brings is vital to successfully addressing the interests of industry, patients and healthcare professionals, particularly around access,” says Nick Leonard, MD for Ruder Finn London. “Judith’s front line experience will only strengthen our already solid foundation in these areas.”

Immediately prior to joining Ruder Finn, Judith served as MD of Health and Advocacy for MS&L Worldwide where she provided strategic counsel and leadership for European and global programmes for pharmaceutical, medical device companies and NGOs.  Her previous agency experience includes Edelman and Ruder Finn, where she was the Healthcare Business Group Director. In the advocacy world, Judith is particularly known for her role as Chief Executive Officer of the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) in Washington D.C.  At NOF, she was responsible for leading efforts to build greater understanding of osteoporosis prevalence, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.  Judith worked with senior US policymakers, NIH, CDC, health industry leaders and a wide range of physician and patient organisations to advance the first ever US Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis. Judith’s efforts helped NOF to focus attention on osteoporosis as a significant public health concern, within the US and internationally.

Judith’s national, pan-European and global experience spans a wide range of therapeutic areas and includes working with many leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, as well as a breadth of NGOs, including scientific and patient organisations.  Her advocacy credentials are complemented by her background across the communications platform and include strategic counsel, issues management, disease awareness, media relations, corporate and brand positioning. Judith has frequently served as a media spokesperson on a range of health issues, and has spearheaded issues briefings in London, Brussels and Washington, D.C.

“Ruder Finn has a strong heritage in all aspects of healthcare communications,” says Judith. “I look forward to working with colleagues as we continue to evolve the practice. We want to support our clients by providing the ongoing creativity, strategic and innovative counsel that helps them to effectively address the diverse challenges of a complex and constantly changing health landscape.”

More than three-quarters (78 per cent) of in-house PR officers feel that digital PR services are inconsistently priced, according to new research released today by Ruder Finn UK.

In-house PROs are also unconvinced of the ROI that social media provides, with almost half of those surveyed (47 per cent) claiming it offered the lowest ROI verses other types of media with print nationals and broadcast media recording the highest ROI figures (40 per cent and 34 per cent respectively).

Print is king?

The research showed that traditional media still carries a lot of influence with in-house PROs. Around three-quarters (73 per cent) of those surveyed said they would rather see coverage in the print edition of a national rather than the online equivalent, whilst 40 per cent said that national coverage provided them with the highest ROI compared with broadcast, trade, online and social media.

“There has been a lot of noise around digital communications - mostly from those that are directly involved in it – yet it would seem that many in-house PROs are yet to be convinced about the ROI it offers and are concerned about the fluctuating pricing models,” said Nick Leonard, managing director Ruder Finn UK. “As an industry we need to build credibility with in-house PROs by developing robust pricing and ROI tools that demonstrate the true value of social media through integrated and measurable campaigns.”

Despite this, the research did show a willingness on the part of in-house PROs to experiment and utilise digital channels. Almost half (49 per cent) of respondents had commissioned their own research into the digital media most likely to influence their target audience and 70 per cent of respondents had embraced a new media channel without fully realising its true potential.

Speed is of the essence

Half of respondents had changed the way their organisations handle approval processes, to enable them to be more responsive to the faster “time to story” demanded by online and social media.  This is something set to increase further over the coming 12-18 months, with 60 per cent of PROs claiming that they still are missing out on media opportunities because their organisations can’t move fast enough.

“There are undoubted benefits that come with social media and it is encouraging to see in-house PROs showing an interest in using these channels,” continued Nick Leonard.

“Digital campaigns need to be part of an overall communications strategy, not a bolt on activity that is not measured in the context of the rest of the marketing campaign.  PROs need to work with their HR/training department to make sure organisations know how to use the tools available to them but also need to factor in a strategy for when something goes wrong, as we saw recently in the cases of the Dominos Pizza video and the #amazonfail rumours.”

Ruder Finn surveyed 100 in-house Public Relations Officers (PROs) for the research, as well as conducting 20 more in-depth interviews with communications staff from across sectors, including technology, pharmaceuticals, charity/NGO, global health and the public sector.

Ruder Finn has the largest interactive communications division in the PR industry and recently launched the UK arm of the Ruder Finn Innovation Studios, originally established in 1999. The UK will be headed by Ged Carroll, director of digital communications.  The new division will span digital communications, social media, website and community development and training and education. Developing the robust ROI tools will be a key part of Carroll’s remit over the following months.

For a full copy of the report findings, please contact Paul Allen on pallen@ruderfinn.co.uk +44 (0) 207 462 8902 @pauliea

or Ged Carroll on

gcarroll@ruderfinn.co.uk +44 (0) 207 462 8919 @r_c

About Ruder Finn

Ruder Finn is a leading independent communications, counselling and services agency with 60 years of experience. Ruder Finn maintains offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington, London, Paris and Jerusalem. Asia Pacific offices include Sydney, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. The Agency also works with leading independent affiliates in major markets throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

Ruder Finn’s corporate and technology division is today launching a new service branded Ruder Finn Innovation Studios.  The new services span digital communications including social media, website development, community development, training and education. Clients from all industry sectors will be able to benefit from an integrated approach to on-and-offline communications.

Ged Carroll, previously at Waggener Edstrom, joined Ruder Finn as director, digital strategies to drive Ruder Finn Innovation Studios in the UK. He reports jointly into Becky McMichael, head of corporate and technology division in London and Scott Schneider, EVP, RFI studios in New York. (www.rfistudios.com)

Ged has a long heritage in the digital space. He currently trains and speaks at e-Consultancy events: prior to his former agency, he was European PR Manager for Yahoo!, where he created and directed pan European consumer PR, buzz marketing and influencer programmes for Yahoo!’s web 2.0 businesses including Yahoo! Search, flickr, del.icio.us, upcoming.org and Yahoo!360.

“We’ve been looking for somebody for a while who not only shares our vision, but also has a high profile in the space and a proven track record of delivering high profile online communications strategies for clients. Ged fits the bill in all areas, and we are delighted that he has decided to join us,” said Nick Leonard, managing director of Ruder Finn UK.  “His track record speaks for itself – he has one of the most impressive Google searches I have seen - and under his leadership Ruder Finn Innovation Studios will really take off in the UK.”

Ruder Finn has the largest interactive communications division in the PR industry - launched in 1999 - but previously the majority of strategy and project management for European clients was handled from the agency’s New York office.  The London team had a trained group of consultants led by Becky McMichael that handled small scale digital comms and social media projects but demand from clients has grown so much over the past twelve months that the agency has decided to expand the range of services it can offer from London.

“Having an on-the-ground strategic presence such as Ged will ensure Ruder Finn Innovation Studios makes as much of an impact in the UK as it has in the US, France and Asia,” Scott Schneider, EVP, RFI studios in New York. “We are proud of our heritage in this area and Ged is 100% the right person to build on that during the course of 2009.”

Ruder Finn UK has appointed Adele McIntosh as an associate director in its corporate and technology division. McIntosh will provide strategic counsel to existing clients and also has a remit to win new business on the corporate side of the division.

McIntosh joins from Brands2Life and during her decade in PR she has worked on a broad spectrum of blue chip companies, leading technology brands and innovative start-ups. At Brands2life she was responsible for T-Mobile UK’s B2B, corporate responsibility, retail and HR campaigns, as well as work on Rentokil, WebEx and BusinessObjects.  She also set up and managed Nortel Networks’ first analyst relations programme and during her time at GCI was responsible for Dell’s enterprise PR campaign in the UK.

Commenting on the appointment, Ruder Finn UK’s Head of Corporate and Technology Division Becky McMichael said: “Adele is a really well-respected addition to the team - her references from ex-colleagues and clients were absolutely glowing.  It is the combination of corporate communications, business press expertise, social media awareness and passion for new business that make her such a strong leader for clients and teams alike.  She is already adding enormous value to our existing clients and helping us achieve our growth plans for the rest of 2009.”

Ruder Finn UK’s corporate and technology division has doubled in size over the past 12 months, both in terms of revenue and headcount, highlighting the company’s worldwide focus on growing this side of its business.

Ruder Finn UK has been appointed by the Malaria Consortium to spearhead an advocacy and communications programme around World Malaria Day, on 25 April 2009. At the centre of the campaign is the launch of an innovative World Malaria Day website which will act as a dynamic and interactive advocacy portal that will help to inform, educate and mobilise the malaria community.

Ruder Finn’s brief is to extend the global effort in providing effective malaria control around the world by engaging civil society in malaria endemic and donor countries, to work together in the fight.

“Malaria remains a serious global health issue that needs to be bought to the world’s attention”said Sunil Mehra, Executive Director of the Malaria Consortium.“I am delighted to welcome Ruder Finn on board for this ambitious project and with their wide-ranging expertise in media relations, digital communications and advocacy, linking with our global work in disease control, we are confident that we can generate an impactful campaign.”

In addition to the website, Ruder Finn will also be supporting the Malaria Consortium with a media relations campaign around World Malaria Day.

The programme will be led by Ruder Finn’s global health and advocacy team. The Ruder Finn team has extensive experience in digital communication programmes and high profile advocacy initiatives and will be using its broad range of skills on this programme.

“This project draws together an exciting combination of partnership building, fundraising and digital communications and is a project that really plays to our strengths. We are thrilled to be able to apply our expertise to such a significant project” said Claire Martin, Head of Healthcare at Ruder Finn.

In addition to the work around World Malaria Day, the Malaria Consortium has also chosen Ruder Finn to develop its corporate website over the coming months.

About the Malaria Consortium

Malaria Consortium is a unique global technical organisation for the control of malaria and other communicable diseases. Malaria Consortium works to improve and save the lives of the most vulnerable people.  Malaria Consortium maintains 25 offices, including London, Kampala, Addis Abbaba, Juba, Maputo, Lusaka, Abuja, Lagos, Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Bristol-based Alterian is an award-winning integrated marketing platform provider that in 2008 acquired a Web Content Management firm, Mediasurface. This change and increase in services offered has required a change of strategy in its communications programme. In discussions with Ruder Finn a principal objective for 2009 was to reach out to more digital agencies to increase awareness of Alterian and its services.

“Traditional PR is still very important to Alterian but we also recognise the need to explore other channels of communication to best engage with our customers, partners and prospects,” said Karen Gibbons, global PR & corporate marketing manager, Alterian.

“Ruder Finn has developed comprehensive expertise through their corporate presence in social media and is already deeply engaged in blogging and other social media. This made it far easier for us to trust and implement their programme for Alterian. We look forward to expanding our digital footprint in 2009.”

Alterian’s VP WCM Product Strategy, Ian Truscott, commented recently in response to an online article about agencies needing to demonstrate digital prowess before being able to recommend strategies to clients: “Ruder Finn is driving our digital communications programme. They are doing a great job of helping us with internal training and adoption of the social web.”

The account team of four will be headed up by Becky McMichael, head of the corporate and technology division at Ruder Finn and will include blogger outreach, twitter and social media activity and the set up and management of Alterian’s own corporate blog, this is marketing.

The programme will run concurrently with an existing traditional PR programme already managed by Ruder Finn.

“Ruder Finn has a strong heritage in traditional technology PR but as an agency we have a passion for communicating in the digital space,” said Becky McMichael. “Growing our digital communications practice is a particular focus for us this year and we are relishing the opportunity to get Alterian more involved in social media and reaching new audiences in a different way.”

The TiVo campaign is a finalist in the category of “Best Use of Online Media”. The campaign centered around a Youtube video by popular Youtube star Corey Williams that was subtly TiVo-themed.  The video was a viral success, receiving  a quarter million visitors in a matter of days and consistent five star ratings from viewers.

RF’s work with AAADT, the focus of which was celebrating Ailey’s golden anniversary, has been nominated in the “Arts, Entertainment & Media Campaign of the Year” category. To promote the anniversary and the company’s performances at New York’s City Center, RF garnered 100 million impressions by securing placements in top-tier outlets like Town & Country, O magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times and Essence, as well as television coverage on CBS Evening News, CNN and The Today Show.

The 2009 PR Week US Awards will be held March 5, 2009 in New York

Paul Allen has joined the agency as an associate director, with an emphasis on technology PR and social/digital media programmes.  Allen brings more than 10 years of marketing and PR experience gained in-house at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at agencies such as GCI and Rainier PR.  His experience ranges from some of the world’s biggest brands including Virgin Media, Dell, Microsoft, Panasonic and Nokia to smaller companies such as Digital Impact, DANTE, Edenbrook, Aprimo and ANT Software.

Allen reports into Becky McMichael, head of technology and corporate PR at Ruder Finn UK. As well as providing support to existing clients such as Alterian, ASG and NextWave Wireless, he is also tasked with building on the strong momentum the agency has built up, and driving new business particularly within the digital and social media sector.

Recent new business wins for the division include a UK media campaign for Specific Media, the world’s largest independent online advertising network; and UK and European programmes for a CRM provider and global professional body.

Also joining Ruder Finn are Kristen Thomas and Annabel Kerr.  Kristen has strong corporate communications and media relations skills and joined as an account executive from Rubenstein Communications in New York. Annabel joined the team as part of Ruder Finn’s graduate recruitment programme.

“The team has grown substantially this year with new clients and staff in addition to a range of new products, providing a greater focus on social media and interactive services,” said Becky McMichael, head of Ruder Finn’s technology and corporate division. “As a Global agency, Ruder Finn has vast experience in both the technology and corporate sectors and these are key areas for future UK expansion.  Paul is an excellent cultural fit for the agency, and brings a wealth of experience in this area. We are pleased that he, Kristen and Annabel have joined us at such an exciting time.”

These latest appointments underline Ruder Finn’s ongoing commitment to growing its technology and corporate division in London, the agency’s European hub.