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Ruder Finn

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Ruder Finn
Company typePrivate
IndustryCommunications
Public Relations
Marketing
Founded1948
FounderDavid Finn
Bill Ruder
HeadquartersNew York City
Beijing
Area served
Global
Key people
Kathy Bloomgarden
(CEO)
Nick Leonard
(managing director, UK)
Elan Shou
(managing director, China)
Atul Sharma
(managing director, India)
Michael Sschubert
(Chief Innovation Officer)
Peggy Walsh
(Chief Operating Officer)
Ian Glover
(Chief Financial Officer)
Tejas Totade
(Chief Technology Officer)
Adeline Phun
(General Manager, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Hilal Khashan
(Managing Director, Norway)
Websitewww.ruderfinn.com Edit this at Wikidata

Ruder Finn is a public relations firm with headquarters in the United States and China. It is a large privately-owned communications agency, serving corporations, governments, and non-profits.[1] It also has offices in San Francisco, London, Washington, D.C., Singapore, and several Indian metro areas including the National Capital Region.

History

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Origins: 1948-1960's

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Ruder Finn was established in 1948 in New York by David Finn and Bill Ruder.[2]

The firm's first client was country singer Perry Como. Its success at promoting Como attracted more clients in show business, including Dinah Shore and Jack Lemmon.[3] Ruder Finn eventually expanded to represent consumer product companies and government agencies.[3]

In the 1960s through late 1990s, while representing long-time client Philip Morris (now Altria), Ruder Finn was instrumental in crafting the public relations campaign that disputed the evidence tobacco smoking is hazardous to health.[4][5][6][7]

1990's

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In the early 1990s, Croatian nationalists initially (and later the Bosnian and Albanian sides) hired the American PR agency Ruder Finn for the “information war.” They unleashed a wave of press releases, press conferences, press materials, and even established a “Bosnia Crisis Communication Center.” The carefully and consciously constructed narrative interpretation by this agency of Serbia as the new Nazi Germany and Slobodan Milosevic as the new Hitler laid the fertile ground on which the very complex civil war – with war crimes committed by all involved parties – could now be distorted and portrayed as a new extermination war and genocide by the Serbs against their own population. The horrors of the terrible massacres and genocides of World War II were invoked, rising like ghosts and overshadowing the current events. The “Račak Massacre,” extensively reported worldwide for days, became a turning point in NATO policy toward Belgrade and changed public perception in Europe and the USA regarding airstrikes on Yugoslavia.

In 1997, Ruder Finn ran the Global Climate Coalition, a group of mainly United States businesses opposing action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[8]

In 1998, the firm was caught in a conflict of interest after it was revealed that it represented both the Jewish Agency for Israel and the government of Switzerland.[9] The Jewish Agency's World Jewish Restitution Organization was pursuing a settlement with the Swiss government over its financial dealings during World War II. Ruder Finn responded to this news by severing relations with the Jewish Agency.[9]

In 1999 Ruder Finn established RFI Studios, a digital practice, to help clients protect and build their reputation online.[10] The agency expanded in Asia, establishing offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Singapore, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

2000's

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In 2005, pro bono work done for the UN raised speculation when Kofi Annan's nephew, Kobina, worked as an intern at the firm.[11]

Kathy Bloomgarden, Finn's daughter, became CEO when he retired in 2011.[12] That year Ruder Finn acquired Thunder Communications, a Chinese event management, brand and marketing consultancy, and formed a partnership with Kyodo Public Relations.[13]

2010's

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In 2012, Ruder Finn accepted a controversial contract from the government of Maldives that was condemned by the Commonwealth of Nations for organizing a political coup d'état that led to the fall of the first democratically elected President of the Maldives.[14] Vice-president of Ruder Finn Tchividjian "admitted there were 'diverse points of views' surrounding the circumstances around the change of government"[15] The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group reiterated its call for early elections to be held in the Maldives.[16]

The agency has won the PRSA Bronze Anvils, Big Apple Awards, SABREs and PRWeek Awards.[17][18][19][20] David Finn received a Big Apple Award.[21]

In 2015, Ruder Finn acquired the Japanese business of Kyodo Public Relations, one of the largest independent PR firms in Japan and the first PR agency to be listed on JASDAQ Securities Exchange.[22]

2020's

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In June 2020, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Neom city project signed a $1.7 million contract with Ruder Finn to counter criticism and controversies surrounding the project and its founder,[23] such as mass arrests, the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, and conflict over forced evictions on Howeitat tribal land.[24]

In July 2020, Ruder Finn acquired the video content studio Osmosis Films, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.[25]

In 2021, Huawei spent $3.5 million with Ruder Finn according to media reports and public records.[26] In 2023, the two companies ended their partnership.[27]

In 2021, Ruder Finn was ranked 30th on the Global Top 250 PR Agency Ranking.[28]

In October 2023 Ruder Finn was named the PR Agency of the Year. This award was given at the Medical Marketing and Media Awards (MM+M), in New York.[29][30] In the same month, Ruder Finn acquired Pandan Social, a Malaysian firm that was founded in 2018.[31]

In March 2024, Ruder Finn acquired the digital marketing agency Flightpath.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Keeping a legacy alive: CEO puts her stamp on the family business". CNN. 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  2. ^ David Finn, The Way Forward: My First Fifty Years at Ruder Finn. New York: Millwood Publishing. 1998. p. 12.
  3. ^ a b Rifkin, Glenn. "David Finn, Co-Founder of a Public Relations Power, Dies at 100". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. ^ Ruder & Finn, Inc., "Project 'B': an alternative proposal to project 'A'", September 1995, Tobacco Institute, Bates no. TIMN0004276/4299 Archived June 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Ruder & Finn, Inc., "Public Relations Study for Philip Morris, Inc.", January 1968, Philip Morris, Bates no. 2021280871/0957 Archived June 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Ruder & Finn, Inc., "Preliminary Proposal for a Corporate Affairs Programme", February 1991, Philip Morris France, Bates No. 2500120377/0438 Archived June 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ 1,247 documents linking Ruder Finn and Philip Morris at the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library at the University of California, San Francisco Archived June 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Hammond, Keith (December 4, 1997). "Astroturf Troopers, How the polluters' lobby uses phony front groups to attack the Kyoto treaty". Mother Jones. Retrieved February 6, 2016. The Global Climate Coalition (GCC), run by Washington P.R. firm Ruder Finn, represents the big oil, gas, coal, and auto corporations.
  9. ^ a b Cohen, Deborah Nussbaum. "Leading P.R. firm caught in fray between Swiss, Jewish clients". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012.
  10. ^ "Ruder Finn Pays $30 Million for New Office - PR News". Everything-PR: Public Relations, Marketing and Social Media News. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  11. ^ Questions surface about Annan's nephew Archived February 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Rifkin, Glenn. "David Finn, Co-Founder of a Public Relations Power, Dies at 100". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Ruder Finn expands in China with four new accounts". PR Week. July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  14. ^ Wright, Oliver. "Fury at lobbyists over lucrative work for brutal Maldives regime". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Cartmell, Matt (April 16, 2012). "Ruder Finn picks up controversial Maldives brief". PR Week. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016.
  16. ^ "Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) Concluding Statement". April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012.
  17. ^ "People and Accounts of Note". New York Times. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  18. ^ "2012 Bronze Anvil Results" (PDF). Public Relations Society of America. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  19. ^ "Pepsi Takes Home Top Honors at SABRE Awards". The Holmes Report. May 10, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  20. ^ "2011 PR Week Awards". PR Week. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  21. ^ "People and Accounts of Note". New York Times. June 5, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  22. ^ "Ruder Finn snaps up China business of Japan's Kyodo Public Relations | PR Week". PR Week. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  23. ^ Dorsey, James M. (2 July 2020). "Saudi prince defends trophy projects amid crisis". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  24. ^ Meuse, Alison Tahmizian (24 April 2020). "Saudi tribesman killed resisting MBS backed project". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Ruder Finn Expands Multi-Platform Video Storytelling Capabilities with Acquisition of Osmosis Films". 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  26. ^ Cook, Sarah (June 27, 2023). "China's Foreign PR Enablers". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  27. ^ Larkin, Ewan (30 October 2023). "Huawei and Ruder Finn cut ties after nearly three years". PR Week. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  28. ^ "Top 250". www.provokemedia.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  29. ^ Finn, Ruder. "Ruder Finn Named PR Agency of the Year at Medical Marketing & Media Awards 2023". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  30. ^ Staff, MM+M (2023-07-17). "MM+M reveals its 2023 Awards finalists". MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  31. ^ "Ruder Finn Acquires Malaysian Digital Agency". PRovoke Media. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  32. ^ "Ruder Finn acquires digital marketing agency Flightpath". PRWeek.
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