Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
Encyclopedia
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (WE) is a large privately owned communications agency, best known as the long-standing public relations
firm for Microsoft
.
and other technology companies. In 1984, Pam Edstrom joined the Waggener Group as an agency partner to Melissa Waggener, and the firm was renamed Waggener Edstrom in 1990. The agency is probably best known for its work in launching Microsoft Windows'95 . In 2005, the agency was renamed Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.
and Asian headquarters in Hong Kong
, with further field offices in Austin, Texas; Beijing; Boston; Johannesburg, South Africa; Munich, Germany; Mumbai; New York City; Paris; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Singapore; Shanghai and Washington, D.C. WE clients include Microsoft Corp.
, Shire, BMC Software
, Iron Mountain
and T-Mobile USA
.
The agency released corporate responsibility reports in 2008, 2009 and 2010
Previously, the agency was named to PRWeek’s Editor’s Choice: Who to Watch List , called out as a “digital frontrunner.” The Holmes Report also named Waggener Edstrom as the Technology Agency of the Decade in 2010. In 2009, the agency was named Public Relations Agency of the Year in North America by the Internal Business Awards . The agency’s WE twendz service has received awards including PRWeek’s PR Innovation of the Year Award (2010) , International Business Awards Best New Product/Service of the Year (2009).
co-written with Marlin Eller
in 1998. In 2007, the agency was also at the center of an incident where a secret Waggener Edstrom-authored dossier for Microsoft
on Wired Magazine journalist Fred Vogelstein was sent to the journalist by accident.
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
firm for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
History
Melissa Waggener Zorkin founded the Waggener Group in 1983, working at the time with MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and other technology companies. In 1984, Pam Edstrom joined the Waggener Group as an agency partner to Melissa Waggener, and the firm was renamed Waggener Edstrom in 1990. The agency is probably best known for its work in launching Microsoft Windows'95 . In 2005, the agency was renamed Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.
Present
The agency has over 800 employees and 16 offices worldwide with U.S. headquarters in Seattle, European headquarters in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Asian headquarters in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, with further field offices in Austin, Texas; Beijing; Boston; Johannesburg, South Africa; Munich, Germany; Mumbai; New York City; Paris; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Singapore; Shanghai and Washington, D.C. WE clients include Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Shire, BMC Software
BMC Software
BMC Software, Inc. is a multinational corporation specializing in Business Service Management software, with record annual revenue in fiscal 2009 of $1.87 billion...
, Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated
Iron Mountain Inc , founded in 1951, is a company whose headquarters are located in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers records management, information destruction and data backup services to more than 120,000 customers throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia...
and T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
.
The agency released corporate responsibility reports in 2008, 2009 and 2010
Awards
In 2011, the agency won PR News Digital PR Awards’ PR Firm of the Year: Digital and was named by PR News as a Top Place to Work in PR. The agency also won Bulldog Stars of PR’s Large, Digital and Technology Agency of the Year awards as well as the Grand Prize: Communications Agency of the Year. At the PR News Platinum Awards the agency won an award for Product Launch for the launch of Microsoft IE9 and was named a finalist for Large Firm of the Year and Global PR Campaign for Microsoft IE9. CEO, Melissa Waggener Zorkin was announced as an inductee into the PR News PR People Hall of Fame and named to PRWeek’s US Power List . In addition, Senior Vice President Mark Martin was named one of PRWeek’s 40 under 40 . Waggener Edstrom Worldwide won a European SABRE award in Real Estate & Construction for its work with Green City Energy & Rau Larmschutzsysteme . The agency also won numerous awards, including the Web Marketing Association’s Best Music Website WebAward and three W3 Awards, for its work on the redesign of the Sasquatch! Music Festival website .Previously, the agency was named to PRWeek’s Editor’s Choice: Who to Watch List , called out as a “digital frontrunner.” The Holmes Report also named Waggener Edstrom as the Technology Agency of the Decade in 2010. In 2009, the agency was named Public Relations Agency of the Year in North America by the Internal Business Awards . The agency’s WE twendz service has received awards including PRWeek’s PR Innovation of the Year Award (2010) , International Business Awards Best New Product/Service of the Year (2009).
Controversy
Agency partner Pam Edstrom was a central character in her daughter's book Barbarians Led by Bill GatesBarbarians Led by Bill Gates
Barbarians Led by Bill Gates: Microsoft from the Inside is a book that was jointly written by Jennifer Edstrom and Marlin Eller. Written as a third-person account of the experiences of Marlin Eller at Microsoft, it goes into detail about the early years of Microsoft and its emergence as a massive...
co-written with Marlin Eller
Marlin Eller
Marlin Eller is a programmer who was a manager and a software developer at Microsoft Corporation from 1982-1995, and he was development lead for the Graphics Device Interface of Windows 1.0 and also for Pen Windows. He was also a co-founder and the CEO of Sunhawk Digital Music LLC...
in 1998. In 2007, the agency was also at the center of an incident where a secret Waggener Edstrom-authored dossier for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
on Wired Magazine journalist Fred Vogelstein was sent to the journalist by accident.