O’Dwyer’s 2016 Ranking of PR Firms Recognizes Walker Sands As Top Chicago PR Firm
CHICAGO (PRWEB) MARCH 22, 2016 – Walker Sands Communications, a full-service public relations and digital marketing firm for B2B technology companies, has been named the fifth largest PR firm in Chicago and the 18th largest technology PR firm nationwide by O’Dwyers, a leading source of news and information in PR and marketing communications.
The announcement comes during a period of impressive growth for the agency. Walker Sands reported 52 percent growth in 2015 and 177 percent growth over the past three years.
“It’s an exciting time both for technology and for the integration of PR and digital marketing, and we consider it a privilege to partner with so many innovative companies,” said Andrew Cross, partner and vice president at Walker Sands. “We are in a fortunate position of being able to work with clients that trust us to try new and exciting things, and to have a world-class team that delivers great work.”
Walker Sands’ 2015 growth was driven in part by:
- A Commitment to High Employee Retention: In a traditionally high turnover industry, Walker Sands has remained at the forefront of excellence in employee retention with percentages higher than the average – a particularly notable accomplishment during a phase of immense growth.
- A Focus on The Digital Ecosystem: The agency’s approach to delivering increased brand awareness, credibility and conversions for its clients is a combination of targeted media relations with strategic use of digital marketing tactics.
- A Roster of Expanding Client Relationships: About one-third of Walker Sands clients brought on in 2015 are utilizing multiple services within the agency. Because Walker Sands is a fully integrated firm, it is a natural extension for many clients to add in digital and/or content marketing to their traditional PR programs.
Walker Sands added 28 full-time employees to the PR, digital and content teams in 2015, increasing the agency’s workforce to 70 full-time employees.
To maintain a thoughtful company culture in the midst of rapid growth, Walker Sands initiated several employee-facing programs in 2015, including quarterly town hall meetings where the executive team answers individual employee questions submitted through TINYpulse.
Another new initiative in 2015 was the “$25,000 Challenge” in which Walker Sands invited employees to propose ideas for investing in agency improvement. Suggestions included everything from season sports tickets for client and team entertainment to a company retreat for training and development. Following a company-wide vote, Walker Sands invested in new technology – ranging from Chromebooks to sound-proof headphones – for each employee, as well as new technology for the office to improve effectiveness, efficiency and access to information.
“Although we’ve grown significantly over the past year, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to our employees and to doing great work for our clients,” Cross said.
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About Walker Sands Communications
Walker Sands is a public relations and digital marketing agency for technology and business-to-business companies. With offices in Chicago and San Francisco, Walker Sands was founded in 2001 to provide data-driven marketing support for a wide array of companies with the business mission of providing best-in-class communications counsel and services. Walker Sands is a three-time Inc. 5000 Honoree and has received many other industry-specific awards, such as PRSA Skylines, Hermes and PR Daily, among others. To learn more, visit https://www.walkersands.com.