Ruder Finn

Ruder Finn is a public relations firm with co-headquarters in the United States and China. It is one of the world's largest privately owned communications agencies. The agency has four divisions: Health & Wellness, Corporate Reputation & Transformation, RFI Studios, and Consumer Connections."[1]

Ruder Finn
Private
IndustryCommunications
Public Relations
Marketing
Founded1948
HeadquartersNew York City
Beijing
Area served
Global
Key people
Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO
David Finn, Founder
Bill Ruder, Founder
Websitewww.ruderfinn.com

History

Ruder Finn was established in 1948 in New York by David Finn and Bill Ruder.[2] The firm is currently led by CEO Kathy Bloomgarden, Ph.D., daughter of David Finn.[3]

Their first client was Perry Como,[4] and over time they expanded their network to include consumer products companies as well as government agencies.

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.[5][6][7][8]

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

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]

In 2011, Ruder Finn acquired Thunder Communications, a Chinese event management, brand and marketing consultancy, and formed a partnership with Kyodo Public Relations.[12]

The agency has won the PRSA Bronze Anvils, Big Apple Awards, SABREs and PRWeek Awards.[13][14][15][16] David Finn received a Big Apple Award.[17]

In 2015, Ruder Finn acquired Kyodo Public Relations, one of the largest independent PR firms in Japan and the first PR agency to be listed on JASDAQ Securities Exchange.[18]

In April 2015, the firm paid $30.7 million for a 34,000-square-foot property on East 53rd Street for new corporate headquarters for the firm.[19]

In 2016, the firm launched a Storytelling & Media offering with Rachel Spielman as lead. Spielman, former head of Corporate Communications, had tripled the size of the corporate practice over the previous 16 years, and took on a newly created role of EVP, Storytelling & Media. The new position was created to formalize the agency's expertise in story mining and help bring these stories to life across traditional and new mediums.[20]

Ruder Finn also launched a new reputation and risk management practice in 2016, focused on developing Ruder Finn's leadership across four core business areas: predictive analytics (using data to identify client issues at the earliest possible stage), intelligence (understanding why corporations fail and succeed in crisis situations), preparedness (advising clients on every aspect of risk management and crisis avoidance) and precision response (delivering a global team that can work alongside clients as they manage through emerging or actual high risk/crisis situations). The practice is led out of Hong Kong, the UK and New York.[21]

Bloomgarden is the author of Trust: The Secret Weapon of Effective Business Leaders, and holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University in Political Science.[22] Bloomgarden also sits on the board of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Partnership for New York City, the Atlantic Council.[23] She is a regular contributor to Fortune Magazine.

In 2017, Bloomgarden became a PRWeek Hall of Femme Honoree, recognized along with eight other women for their dedication to the industry.[24]

In 2006, David Finn, received the John W. Hill Award for leadership, service and ethical conduct for his work at Ruder Finn.[25] That year, Ruder Finn also won the 2006 Caregiving Freddie Award for its work on the Johnson & Johnson Strength for Caring website.[26]

In July 2020, Ruder Finn acquired the video content studio Osmosis Films, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. [27]

References
  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. dos Santos, Nina. "Keeping a legacy alive: CEO puts her stamp on the family business". CNN. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  4. Hood, Julia (2008-11-17). "PR's forefathers". PR Week. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  5. Ruder & Finn, Inc., "Project 'B': an alternative proposal to project 'A'", September 1995, Tobacco Institute, Bates no. TIMN0004276/4299 Archived March 10, 2011, at WebCite
  6. Ruder & Finn, Inc., "Public Relations Study for Philip Morris, Inc.", January 1968, Philip Morris, Bates no. 2021280871/0957 Archived March 10, 2011, at WebCite
  7. Ruder & Finn, Inc., "Preliminary Proposal for a Corporate Affairs Programme", February 1991, Philip Morris France, Bates No. 2500120377/0438 Archived March 10, 2011, at WebCite
  8. 1,247 documents linking Ruder Finn and Philip Morris at the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library at the University of California, San Francisco Archived March 10, 2011, at WebCite
  9. 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.
  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 March 10, 2011, at WebCite
  12. "Ruder Finn expands in China with four new accounts". PR Week. July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  13. "People and Accounts of Note". New York Times. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  14. "2012 Bronze Anvil Results" (PDF). Public Relations Society of America. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  15. "Pepsi Takes Home Top Honors at SABRE Awards". The Holmes Report. May 10, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  16. "2011 PR Week Awards". PR Week. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  17. "People and Accounts of Note". New York Times. June 5, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  18. "Ruder Finn snaps up China business of Japan's Kyodo Public Relations | PR Week". PR Week. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  19. Pace, Richard D. "Ruder Finn Pays $30 Million for New Office - PR News". Everything-PR: Public Relations, Marketing and Social Media News.
  20. "Ruder Finn Announces Newly Created Storytelling Role and Appointment of New Corporate Practice Head" (Press release). Ruder Finn. Retrieved 2017-08-03 – via PR Newswire.
  21. Samadi, Faaez. "Ruder Finn launches global reputation management practice" (Press release). Retrieved 2019-08-18 – via prweek.com.
  22. Bloomgarden, Kathy. "LEADERS Interview with Dr. Kathy Bloomgarden, Chief Executive Officer, Ruder Finn, Inc". leadersmag.com. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  23. "Kathy Bloomgarden CEO of Ruder Finn PR: A PR Profile". Everything-PR: Public Relations, Marketing and Social Media News. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  24. "PRWEEK NAMES 2017 HALL OF FEMME HONOREES". PR Council. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  25. "People and Accounts of Note". The New York Times. 2006-06-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  26. "Ruder Finn's Interactive Client Johnson & Johnson Wins the Freddie Award for Caregiving" (Press release). Ruder Finn. Retrieved 2017-10-12 – via PR Newswire.
  27. "Ruder Finn Expands Multi-Platform Video Storytelling Capabilities with Acquisition of Osmosis Films". 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
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