In May, the agency was named 2007 Agency of the Year at the annual SABRE Awards dinner. The awards event is sponsored by The Holmes Report and is among the most prestigious recognition programs in the industry.

Just two months earlier, GH was named 2007 Large Agency of the Year at the PRWeek Awards. This prestigious award recognizes financial and client growth, client retention, and PR creativity and innovation.

PRWeek had also named GH its Editors’ Choice for 2007.

Founder Al Golin said receiving the coveted Agency of the Year Award was “a great moment” for the agency. “It’s gratifying to have our work and our progress honored by our peers in the public relations industry,” he said.

Fred Cook, president and CEO, thanked clients and colleagues with a promise. “We have our clients and our people to thank for all the great recognition we’ve received in the past few months. Being named Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report caps off a proud year for us. But we won’t rest on our laurels. We’re ready for the next fifty years.”

Judges also praised GH’s strategy of looking forward as it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. In granting both the Large Agency of the Year and Editor’s Choice Awards, PR Week stated that “Judges were unanimous that all around, this [Golin Harris] was a highly impressive firm that had a year of which it could really be proud.” 

In addition to taking the highest honor in three of the most competitive categories, GH also won Technology Campaign of the Year at the PRWeek Awards for its work with Nintendo of America and the positioning of the Brain Age video game. The agency also won Employee Communications Campaign of the Year Award for its work with Piedmont Hospital for the development and implementation of its employee referral program.

These extraordinary honors are the latest additions to GH’s growing list of industry accolades, which reaffirm the agency’s leadership in the industry.

McDonald's Says Thanks for 50-Year Partnership

Golden Arches executives thanked founder Al Golin for a half century of service

McDonald’s Corporation recently honored GolinHarris founder and chairman Al Golin for their 50-year relationship. Golin received the award from Jack Daly, McDonald’s chief communications officer, in the presence of more than 1,000 attendees at the company’s Global Marketing Insights & Corporate Relations Conference. 

“Al Golin is one of the pioneers in the communications industry, and it’s hard to imagine the past 50 years of McDonald’s and our brand without Al Golin,” said Daly. “It’s significant that GolinHarris has been with McDonald’s for 50 years; I don’t know of any other client-agency relationship in the world like that.” 

In 1957, Golin placed a cold call to Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, and offered public relations services to the then-fledging business. The relationship took off, and since then GolinHarris has been public relations agency of record for McDonald’s.

McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner said, “I couldn’t be prouder to call Al Golin a partner and someone who has added so much value to brand McDonald’s over these 50 years.”

Fred L. Turner, former senior chairman and partner with Ray Kroc since the beginning of McDonald’s, said of Golin, “He’s a great example … maybe the best example of a service company, being a key part of our ‘three-legged stool.’ You’ve made a real difference to McDonald’s.”

“As we have grown, GolinHarris has been a valuable partner in working with us on a global scale and helping us identify not only issues but opportunities that will help set our brand apart,” stated Bridget Coffing, McDonald’s corporate communications vice president.

“I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to be on this fantastic 50-year journey with McDonald’s,” said Golin.

China-Silicon Valley Association Appoints GolinHarris as Official PR Agency

GolinHarris was appointed the official public relations partner for Hua Yuan Science & Technology Association (HYSTA), the leading Silicon Valley Chinese professional association. The agency supported HYSTA’s Annual Conference and CEO Summit in May.

As public relations partner, GH was responsible for the planning, strategy and execution of the conferences’ public relations program. The agency served as primary public relations partner handling media relations for the conference, working closely with conference organizers, speakers and sponsors.  

The HYSTA event marked an important milestone for the organization, which, since its founding in 1999, has become an influential catalyst for business between China and Silicon Valley. This year’s Annual Conference theme was “China, Globalization and the Shifting Global Power Equation.” The program addressed China's growing influence in the global business world and discussed global warming and green technologies. Keynote speakers were former U.S. vice president Al Gore and Yahoo! Co-Founder Jerry Yang. 

“We applaud the important work that HYSTA is doing to raise public awareness of issues relating to China and U.S.-China businesses,” said Sharon Sim-Krause, executive vice president and director of Panache, GolinHarris’ Asian Communications Practice. “As China continues to dominate news headlines, our San Francisco team of multilingual and multicultural professionals is ready to help tell the stories that will shape tomorrow’s global headlines.”

Texas Instruments Names GH Top Supplier

For the second time in three years, Texas Instruments (TI) has selected GolinHarris as a recipient of its prestigious Supplier Excellence Award, an honor presented annually to select partners of the semiconductor leader. 

Chosen from more than 15,000 companies in TI’s worldwide supplier base, only 24 award recipients are recognized for their dedication and commitment to delivering outstanding services and meeting TI’s high standard of excellence.

“To receive this honor again from such a valued, long-term client is a tribute, not to the level of our service, but rather to the cohesive and inclusive relationship that continues between GolinHarris and Texas Instruments,” said Gary Rudnick, regional managing director, Central Region.   

GolinHarris provides full public relations support for multiple TI businesses based in Dallas and Houston, including digital signal processors, high-performance analog, video, advanced embedded control, wireless and education technology solutions. The agency’s work for TI has been recognized multiple times by industry groups such as the Public Relations Society of America and the Texas Public Relations Association. 

“This award, established to honor businesses that have provided exemplary services and superior value, recognizes GolinHarris’ continued enthusiasm and commitment to helping TI attain maximum results in our media relations efforts. We are proud of our close collaboration with GolinHarris, and we look forward to continued success in our work together,” said Trisha Cunningham, director, TI Company Communications.

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Agency Expands Presence in Middle East

Mustafa Sami, country manager, Saudi Arabia

GolinHarris recently announced the appointment of Mustafa Sami as the country manager for Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. Sami will work on a number of high-profile accounts across the region and will lead the team in Saudi Arabia, where he is developing a center of public relations excellence as part of the regional practice.

“We are very pleased to welcome a new senior member to the GolinHarris family. Mustafa is a true PR veteran, and I am sure he will make a valuable contribution as the agency expands in the region,” said Fred Cook, president and CEO.

Before joining GolinHarris, Sami was with Memac Ogilvy as public relations director based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was responsible for managing and overseeing the PR and corporate communications program for Saudi Telecommunications Company and other clients including National Aviation Services and Gulf Air at a strategic level. Prior to this Sami worked with Hill & Knowlton as account director for many years, where he gained extensive experience in a wide spectrum of PR fields including corporate, consumer, financial, political and sports communications’ practices.

In addition to servicing their client list, the Saudi Arabia operation will support the Dubai office in providing their clients with full and extensive insight into the Saudi market.

In the Middle East, GolinHarris is headed by Gregory Tikanhoff, regional managing director, and Ziad Hasbani, managing director, who heads up a team of highly experienced and multicultural public relations professionals with expertise in a wide range of industries. GolinHarris regional clients include British Petroleum, The Dow Chemical Company, MasterCard, Meat and Livestock Australia, KRAFT Foods Inc., alWaseet International, Schlumberger and many others.