Weber Shandwick France Named Public Relations Agency of the Year at the 32nd Grand Prix des Agences de l’Année

Tuesday, January 03, 2012 PARIS, 03 Jan. 2012 – Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global public relations firms, announced it was recently named Agence de Relations Publiques de l’Année (Public Relations Agency of the Year) at the Diner des Présidents of the 32nd Grand Prix des Agences de l’Année. The winning agencies were announced with the support of Monsieur Frédéric Mitterand, The Ministry of Culture and Communication and the trade associations ADC, AFDM, AFM, ANA, le Club des Annonceurs, IAB, UDA, UDECAM, SYNTEC public relations consultancy.

This event is the only Grand Prix that honours major communications consultancies for their competitive performance in the market, following a survey supervised by a selection committee, which brings together independent experts from the communications sector. It evaluates agencies according to the following criteria: the acquisition of new budgets, customer loyalty, award-winning creativity and growth in sales or gross profit, category by category.

“We are honoured to receive this prestigious award,” said Arnaud Pochebonne, managing director of Weber Shandwick France. “With a new generation of consultants and strong expertise in fields such as digital and healthcare, we are well-positioned to continue to lead with best-in class service to our clients.”

About Grand Prix des Agences de l’Année
A propos du GRAND PRIX DES AGENCES DE L'ANNEE Créé il y a 32 ans, LES AGENCES DE L'ANNEE est le seul prix qui distingue non seulement la qualité créative des campagnes publicitaires ou des opérations de communication des agences candidates, mails aussi leurs performances en tant qu'entreprises, selon des critères de gain de nouveaux budgets, de fidélité des clients acquis et de créativité primée lors des différents concours de création. La sélection des lauréats est effectuée à l'issue d'une enquête administrée à partir des fichiers DOC COM, la 1ère base de données des agences et annonceurs, et supervisée par un comité d'experts indépendants tous spécialistes du marché des agences de communication: un chasseur de têtes (Michel Marie, MARIE TEAM), un conseil en rapprochement d'entreprises (SCHROEDER & ASS.), un avocat d'affaires (Me Hubert Roger-Vasselin), un expert-comptable spécialiste de l'évaluation d'entreprises (Patrick Aubart, AUBART & ASSOCIES). LES AGENCES DE L'ANNEE est le seul prix placé sous le patronage du Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. www.lesagencesdelannee.com

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 81 countries around the world. The firm’s success is built on its deep commitment to client service, our people, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates - engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. In 2010, Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report for the second year in a row; an ‘Agency of the Decade’ by Advertising Age, Large PR Agency of the Year by Bulldog Reporter, a Digital Firm of the Year by PR News, and Top Corporate Responsibility Advisory Firm by CR Magazine. The firm has also won numerous ‘best place to work’ awards around the world. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com.