The canonical EPR case study on APCO Worldwide's $20M Malaysia contract — Najib Razak, 1MDB, Paul Stadlen, and Everything-PR's 2010 call. Updated June 2026 with archived 2010 and 2015 reporting now folded in.
APCO Worldwide — the largest employee-owned independent in global public affairs. Founded 1984 by Margery Kraus inside Arnold & Porter. CEO Brad Staples since January 2015. 1,200+ employees, 30+ locations, 80+ markets, ~$225M revenue.
This is one PR firm that has taken advantage of the power that social media platforms have, and specifically, Instagram has, on digital marketing.
"We have been contacted twice in recent weeks by private PR companies representing Indian govt.
PR firms - much like law firms - have conflicts of interest and issues they cannot discuss.
PR agency benefits in 2026 — the 401(k) competition from 2015 was a snapshot of when defined-contribution plans were the primary differentiator. The current landscape spans parental leave, mental health, flexibility, sabbaticals, equity, and the recognition rankings that compound them.
Twelve years after Michael Lasky, Margi Booth, Larry Weber and three other PR industry leaders sat down at the 2014 Holmes Report Independent PR Firm Forum to talk about succession — a scoreboard on what actually happened, and what independent PR founders should learn.
Mastercard's 2013 #InternsWanted social-recruiting campaign — six countries, Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, and APCO partner agencies, the cash-free framing seven years ahead of the broader payments-category vocabulary, and the early-talent pipeline that became a defined fintech strategic concern across the decade that followed.
British Airways has run a different airline brand operating system than its U.S. counterparts — slower, more localized, more agency-driven. The EPR analysis of how the BA model holds up against the United Airlines case in the AI Communications era.
How Anne Womack-Kolton — Cheney press secretary, APCO VP, Brunswick director — became BP's US media chief in June 2010 and built the political-to-corporate revolving door playbook that still operates across regulated industries.
