Sparkpr
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public Relations |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Donna (Sokolsky) Burke and Chris Hempel |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA, USA |
Number of employees | 60+ |
| Website | www.sparkpr.com |
Spark Public Relations is a public relations and integrated marketing communications agency headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York City. The firm focuses on the technology and consumer markets.[1]
History
Spark Public Relations was founded in 1999 by Donna Sokolsky Burke and Chris Hempel,[2] who started the firm after working at Netscape. Its early clients were Silicon Valley start-ups and former Netscape colleagues.[3][4][2][5][6] It signed one-year contracts to help with startup launches and IPOs, in exchange for equity in the company. It supported VA Linux's IPO in December 1999. [3][2]
A price comparison website, Shopping.com's hired Spark in 2004.[7] The following year, it began supporting Yahoo.com and MyYahoo.[8] In 2007, it founded SPR Europe, a London-based affiliate for the European market.[9] An office was opened in South Africa in 2008[10] and in New York in 2012.[11]
References
- ^ "Winners of the 2012 Bulldog Digital/Social PR Awards for Outstanding Achievement by Agencies and Individuals in PR and Corporate Communications" (PDF). Bulldog Reporter. January 14, 2013.
- ^ a b c Boutin, P. (November, 1999), "Lack of Flacks", WIRED Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 11. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
- ^ a b Clarkson, B. (March 14, 2001). "P.R. agents to startups: Keep quiet!". Computerworld. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
- ^ . August 16, 2003 http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SJ&s_site=mercurynews&p_multi=SJ&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FD0789441B1BA81&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "A Tiny Company Without Profits Goes Public With a Bang". The New York Times.
- ^ "Our Story". Sparkpr.
- ^ Gordon, Andrew (February 2, 2004). "Sparkpr to deliver Shopping.com to a broader audience"". PRWeek. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
- ^ Gordon, Andrew (October 13, 2004). "Yahoo selects Spark for 'front door' assignments"". PRWeek. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
- ^ "SparkPR Expands to London". PRWeek. July 30, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ Shah, Aarti. "Sparkpr opens South Africa office, adds clients". PRWeek. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
- ^ Krietsch, Beth (April 26, 2012). "SparkPR opens New York office". PRWeek. Retrieved October 29, 2013.