Michael J. Berland Joins Edelman To Lead Global Research Business

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Edelman announced today that Michael J. Berland will join Edelman as chief executive officer of Edelman Berland, the firm's newly-named strategic research and analytic business. Effective September 10, Berland will lead Edelman's global approach to reputation, branding and communications research and integrate StrategyOne, Edelman's existing market research firm, with Edelman Berland.

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"I have known and admired Mike Berland's work for close to a decade," said Richard Edelman, president and chief executive officer of Edelman. "When it comes to fully integrating research with PR programs and partnering with both account teams and clients, he is simply the best. I couldn't be more pleased Mike has joined the Edelman family, and I'm confident Edelman Berland will be a best in class global operation. Mike and I share a belief that we must bring our clients real-time research that is relevant in a digital world with speed, multiple sources of information and peer credibility."

Edelman went on to say, "I have the same global aspiration for Edelman Berland that I had when we fully integrated our digital business into the geography businesses. We know the model works, and the fact that our digital business has grown to revenues in excess of $80 million globally as a result speaks for itself."

The operations of StrategyOne will fully integrate and become part of Edelman Berland. As a single entity operating within Edelman they will partner with the more than 65 offices around the globe ensuring that research and analysis are at the core of our client work. Edelman Berland also will establish its own client relationships where consulting and research are required prior to the development of a communications campaign. Berland will report to Matthew J. Harrington, Edelman's global chief operating officer.

"There is simply no other PR agency like Edelman and I look forward to working with Steve Lombardo, the founder of StrategyOne, as he will be an important partner as we evolve Edelman's research business," said Berland. "The fact that Edelman is family-owned, has stayed independent and retains its strong entrepreneurial edge while also having the largest global footprint speaks volumes about the values and future of the firm. Leveraging the global Trust Barometer, I look forward to building real-time research tools at Edelman Berland that capture and share insights from social media, instant connections, and on-line communities to help our clients develop the most effective campaigns."

Berland was most recently President of Penn Schoen Berland, where he led studies and campaigns for the world's top brands, blue-chip companies, political candidates and entertainment clients in more than 80 countries on six continents. Berland's clients have included multinational companies, professional sports leagues, entertainment figures, higher education and cultural institutions and political candidates in the U.S. and abroad.

He has been the official pollster for PARADE magazine. He served as strategic advisor to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his 2001 and 2005 mayoral campaigns. For Hillary Clinton's 2006 Senate and 2008 Presidential primary campaigns, Berland used state-of-the-art targeting to win key victories among especially challenging demographics in critical regions of both campaigns.

He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar and received his initial training at the Social and Demographic Research Institute.

About StrategyOne

Founded in the mid-90s, StrategyOne is an insights-driven market research firm which provides evidence-based stakeholder insights, analysis and media measurement to corporate, organizational and governmental clients globally. Serving clients including PepsiCo, Shell and Mubadala, the firm specializes in reputation, branding and communications research. StrategyOne has over 100 employees and US offices in New York, Chicago, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle and Rochester. International StrategyOne offices are located in Paris, London, Brussels and Abu Dhabi.

About Edelman

Edelman is the world's largest public relations firm, with 65 offices and more than 4,500 employees worldwide, as well as affiliates in more than 30 cities. Edelman was named Advertising Age's top-ranked PR firm of the decade in 2009 and one of its "A-List Agencies" in both 2010 and 2011; Adweek's "2011 PR Agency of the Year;" PRWeek's "2011 Large PR Agency of the Year;" and The Holmes Report's "2011 Global Agency of the Year" and its 2011 "North American Large Agency of the Year." Edelman was named one of the "Best Places to Work" by Advertising Age in 2010 and 2012 and among Glassdoor's top five "2011 Best Places to Work." Edelman owns specialty firms Blue (advertising), A&R Edelman (technology), DJE Science (medical education and biotech), and agencies Edelman Significa (Brazil), and Pegasus (China). Visit http://www.edelman.com for more information.

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SOURCE Edelman