- Porter Novelli
Porter Novelli International is a
public relations andlobby ing firm that is part ofOmnicom Group .History
Porter Novelli was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972 by
William D. Novelli andJack Porter , advertising men who worked together to market thePeace Corps and to get PresidentRichard M. Nixon re-elected." The vision was to create an agency on the revolutionary idea that the creative, strategic marketing approaches used in the commercial sector could and should be applied to help nonprofit organizations improve public health and address social issues. [http://www.porternovelli.com/site/mainpage.aspx?pgname=history]In 1996, Porter Novelli officially established a global brand, by uniting a group of owned businesses and partners under a common brand and values, offering consistent, high-quality service to multinational clients.This global brand was created under the leadership of two international public relations leaders,
Bob Druckenmiller andPeter Hehir , who had a vision of the first, true multinational, multicultural public relations firm capable of delivering best-in-class service to clients in all major world markets."Druckenmiller "had co-founded Porter Novelli in the U.S. in the 1970s," while Hehir "had founded Countrywide Communications Group in the United Kingdom in the 1970s." The two joined forces "in the late 1980s to offer global service to both companies' major clients," the website stated [http://www.porternovelli.com/pnwebsite/pnwebsite.nsf/WWA_Reputation]
In a listing on its website of PR companies with a crisis management capability, the
American Meat Institute described Porter Novelli's U.S. expertise as including "product recalls, tampering, environmental and natural disasters, regulatory and legislative issues, labor and factory incidents as well attacks ["sic"] from advocacy groups at the national as well as the local level." [http://www.meatami.com/Content/NavigationMenu/CrisisCenter/ExternalCrisisManagementResources/PublicRelationsFirmsWithCrisisManagementCapabilities/Public_Relations_Firms_With_Crisis_Management_Capabilities.htm]Porter Novelli is best known for creating both the old and new USDA Food Pyramid campaigns [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/politics/10pyramid.html]
Porter Novelli is a national, full-service public relations firm of over 700 professionals with offices in Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Porter Novelli is the flagship agency of Porter Novelli International, with offices in over 100 cities and 52 countries. [http://www.porternovelli.com/site/mainpage.aspx?pgname=history]
Climate change
Porter Novelli helped promote the U.S.
Business Roundtable 's "Climate RESOLVE" program, "O'Dwyer's PR Daily" reports. Climate RESOLVE was created to encourage companies to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, responding toGeorge W. Bush 's call for a voluntary 18 percent reduction of emissions by 2012 and attempting to undermine an international treaty on GHG.The Climate RESOLVE campaign kicked off on September 23, 2004 with ads in the "Washington Post" and "Roll Call" to be followed by "one-pagers" for "Congressional aides, environmental officials and reporters to keep them abreast of efforts to control greenhouse gas."
Climate RESOLVE is also hosting a two-day "GHG Management Workshop," featuring a talk by White House Council on Environmental Quality chair
James L. Connaughton . The Business Roundtable says 70 percent of its members have signed up for Climate RESOLVE. "They are eager to avoid the mandated cuts that are going into effect in much of the world under the Kyoto Protocol, the pending international treaty of global warming," O'Dwyer's writes. [http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0922globalwarming.htm]U.S. government PR contracts
According to the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Minority Office, Porter-Novelli received the following amounts per year, for federal PR contracts: [http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/investigations.asp?Issue=Covert+Propaganda]
*$1,080,000 in 1997
*$3,833,000 in 1998
*$16,098,000 in 1999
*$5,416,000 in 2000
*$3,576,000 in 2001
*$14,786,313 in 2002
*$7,495,188 in 2003
*$7,019,145 in 2004Porter-Novelli's federal contracts have included work for the
Department of Health and Human Services , for theirNational Institutes of Health ,National Institute of Mental Health , andCenters for Disease Control and Prevention , carrying out an “annual mail survey … that examines health-related attitudes and behaviors.”The food guide pyramid
Porter Novelli "invented the first pyramid in the late 1980's," but the USDA "delayed its release until 1992," due to complaints from meat and milk producers that "their products were placed in such a way that people might be discouraged from consuming them." [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/politics/10pyramid.html]
With the release of new USDA federal dietary guidelines in early 2005, Porter Novelli won a government contract worth nearly $2.5 million to design an updated version of the food guide pyramid - an informational graphic that may or may not be a pyramid. Noting that government food guidelines "can be powerful marketing tools for the food industry," affecting sales as well as "federal food programs costing $46 billion a year, including food stamps and meals for schoolchildren," some questioned the propriety of awarding the contract to a firm whose clients include
McDonald's and theSnack Food Association . "You have a company on one hand pushing McDonald's or almonds or whatever, and on the other providing objective advice on government nutrition programs," saidCenter for Science in the Public Interest directorMichael F. Jacobson . "It really does pose a conflict of interest." [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/politics/10pyramid.html]Porter Novelli executives "say a fire wall dividing the government effort from the corporate interests, and the various corporate interests from one another, is maintained by confidentiality agreements, strict separation of the teams working on various campaigns and a number of protocols and computer safeguards on the flow of information." Moreover, stated
William D. Novelli , the firm's mix of private and government clients creates "synergy. It benefits both clients. Consumers are not purists. They are not monolithic." [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/politics/10pyramid.html]taff
According to the firm's website, its leadership is composed of: [http://www.porternovelli.com/site/mainpage.aspx?pgname=executive_leadership]
*Helen Ostrowski , Chairman
*Gary Stockman , CEO
*Julie Winskie , President Americas
*Jean Wyllie , President EMEA
*Mike Gehb , CFO
*Bob Elloyan , CIOubsidiaries
*
Porter Novelli Scotland
*Turnbull Porter Novelli (Australia)Clients
According to its website, Porter Novelli clients include: [http://www.porternovelli.com/pnwebsite/pnwebsite.nsf/WWA_Clients]
*American Legacy Foundation
*Gillette
*Pfizer Inc
*PricewaterhouseCoopers
*Wyeth
*American Cancer Society
*GlaxoSmithKline
*Hewlett-Packard Company
*Procter & Gamble
*Qualcomm Other reports list the following as current or former clients: [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/politics/10pyramid.html]
*U.S.Department of Agriculture
*U.S.Department of Health and Human Services
*M&M Mars
*Campbell Soup Company
*Dole Food Company
*McDonald's
*Snack Food Association
*National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
*Guinness stout
*Johnnie Walker Scotch
*National Cancer Institute UK clients and staff
*
Porter Novelli UK Clients, PRCA Yearbook 2004
*Porter Novelli Scotland, Clients, PRCA Yearbook 2004 External links
* [http://www.porternovelli.com Official site]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Porter_Novelli Profile on]SourceWatch
*American Meat Institute, " [http://www.meatami.com/Content/NavigationMenu/CrisisCenter/ExternalCrisisManagementResources/PublicRelationsFirmsWithCrisisManagementCapabilities/Public_Relations_Firms_With_Crisis_Management_Capabilities.htm Public Relations Firms With Crisis Management Capabilities] , accessed February 8, 2004.
*Nicholas Zamiska, " [http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109104875075676781,00.html?mod=health%5Fhs%5Fpolicy%5Flegislation Food-Pyramid Frenzy: Lobbyists Fight to Defend Sugar, Potatoes and Bread In Recommended U.S. Diet] ," "Wall Street Journal ",July 29 ,2004 .
*" [http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0922globalwarming.htm PN helps BR on global warming] ", "O'Dwyers PR Daily",September 22 , 2004.
*Kim Severson, " [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/politics/10pyramid.html When a Food Marketer Devises Nutrition Advice] ," "New York Times ",April 10 , 2005.
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