Hong Kong , March 28 , 2007 – Burson-Marsteller has been named ‘International Agency of the Year’ in T he Holmes Report’s 2007 Agencies of the Year awards.

The annual ranking of public relations firms is conducted by industry trade magazine, The Holmes Report. The awards are based on several criteria, including business momentum, international reach; expertise, standard of client work, quality of staff and community involvement.

Speaking about the honour, Harold Burson, Founder and Worldwide Chief Executive of Burson-Marsteller said:

“Our international business has been near and dear to me from the time we opened our Geneva office in 1961.  I believe that was the “defining event” that propelled Burson-Marsteller to the position of pre-eminence it has long enjoyed. As we developed in one country after another, my associates and I also foresaw the need for one seamless organization and a common culture throughout our growing network.”

Burson-Marsteller’s Asia Pacific region came in for particular praise in the report. The company first opened offices in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore in 1973 and now has 17 offices throughout the region. The team has three times won “Asia Pacific Network of the Year” at the annual Asia Pacific PR Awards in 2000, 2003 and 2005. The Holmes Report commented that Burson-Marsteller’s Asia Pacific network “is more than just dots on the map: more than 60 percent of its work is regional or multi-market. The firm has been ranked number one in China by the China International Public Relations Association and its recent Indian acquisition, Genesis, is among the market leaders in that country.”

Burson continues: “The public relations consulting business is undergoing substantial change. Large global corporations are slowly coming to realize that they must speak with a single voice around the world; and that they must have a response mechanism that matches the efficiency of the news outlets in distributing information. In my view, no other public relations firm is so well equipped as Burson-Marsteller to deliver on both counts.”

About Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller ( www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and public affairs firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising, and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 57 wholly-owned offices and 45 affiliate offices, together operating in 59 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.

First established in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo in 1973, the Burson-Marsteller network in Asia Pacific includes offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Chengdu, Chennai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Kolkata, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo; with affiliates in Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, Islamabad, Karachi, Manila, Taipei and Wellington. For more information please visit www.asiaperspective.com.