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Historically best known for its work in the professional and financial services sectors, which did not necessarily enjoy their best year in 2008, BlissPR (formerly Bliss Gouverneur & Associates) was able to hold its own in 2008, in part because major financial industry clients such as MetLife and KeyCorp weathered the storm better than many of their peers and in part because of its diversification over the past couple of years around a platform of “PR for thought leaders” that has seen it expand into the healthcare arena in partnership with the new sister agencies it picked up after it was acquired—after 30 years as an independent boutique—by CommCor (recently renamed The Dudnyk Exchange), a marketing services company that also owns two healthcare advertising agencies and an interactive communications firm.
So Bliss ended the year with fees of around $4.6 million, about the same level of income it had 12 months ago, with new business from the Ontario Ministry of International Trade & Investment, which retained Bliss to attract U.S. journalists to tours of Ontario industries that offer opportunities for U.S. investors; Golub & Company, a major real estate investment and development firm based in Chicago (where Bliss opened its first office outside New York a little over a year ago); DeStefano, a global architectural firm; and Call to Action, an organization composed of the general counsels of Fortune 500 companies. The firm continues to work for executive search firm Battalia Winston; accounting and consulting firm BDO Seidman; insurance giant Chubb; Hay Group; law firm Hunton & Williams, marketing services firm Maritz; and RHR
International consulting. The mix of business remains unchanged—about 45 percent from financial services, about the same from professional services, the remainder from healthcare and corporate clients—but the firm has been developing its social media capabilities, managing assignments for clients such as Chubb, HedgeStreet.com and Nth Degree.
Interesting assignments included work for TransCorp, a Nigerian holding company for which BlissPR developed media and marketing materials and handled an executive leadership program introducing the chief executive to major U.S. business media, including an appearance on CNBC’s Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, and a keynote speech at the Global Business Conference of the Stern School of Business at NYU. For HedgeStreet.com, an online retail exchange that allows investors to participate in the futures and commodities markets, the firm helped drive traffic via traditional and new media coverage. And BlissPR also executed a major initiative for the energy practice of longtime client BDO Seidman, positioning the firm as a thought leader via a survey of CFOs at oil and gas companies.
“BlissPR knows our firm and understands our business,” says Barry Koval, executive director at Hunton & Williams. “They work seamlessly with our in-house staff to leverage our most important national news stories. Their network of contacts in the print and broadcast media is invaluable.”
The firm continues to play an active leadership role in Worldcom, one of the largest independent networks of PR firms in the world. John Bliss became chair of the Americas region in October of last year, and Elizabeth Sosnow serves as co-chair of the financial services practice group. Bliss works with Worldcom partner firms on a number of current clients, including KeyCorp, Maritz and Call to Action.
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