WE (firm)


WE Communications and commonly known as WE is a global public relations and integrated marketing communications firm often associated with its largest client, Microsoft. The firm was founded in 1983 by Melissa Waggener Zorkin.

History

The Waggener Group was founded in 1983 by Melissa Waggener Zorkin. In 1984, Pam Edstrom joined the firm, which was renamed Waggener Edstrom. Edstrom previously worked for Microsoft, which became one of the agency's first clients.
The firm acquired PR.com in 2001, Maloney & Fox in 2003, Shout Holdings in 2004, Patzer PR in 2012, Buchan in 2016, Red Bridge Consulting and WATATAWA in 2017, Avian Media in 2018 and Codeword in 2019.
In September 2015, the company re-branded as WE Communications.
Pam Edstrom died in March 2017 and later that year was posthumously inducted in the PR Hall of Fame.

Services

WE Communications focuses on three sectors — healthcare, consumer and technology.
WE Communications services include media relations, corporate and executive communications, digital marketing, creative, social media and content strategy, crisis communications, insights and analytics, corporate social responsibility, brand purpose and reputation.

Notable clients and campaigns

Notable clients include Microsoft, Volvo, Boehringer Ingelheim, VSP, Honeywell, Tencent, Cisco, McDonald's, Tabula Rasa, Brother, Amgen, Gilead, iRobot, RSA, Lenovo, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AT&T and others.
WE Communications is often associated with its work for Microsoft, one of WE Communications' first clients. In WE Communications' early years, its relationship with Microsoft led to it working primarily with other technology companies, before expanding into healthcare, consumer and other sectors.
For more than a decade, WE Communications supported Mercy Corps on a pro-bono basis after CEO Waggener Zorkin took on the client after visiting the Good Shepherd orphanage in Ghana.
In 2007, a WE Communications employee accidentally sent Wired journalist Fred Vogelstein his own thirteen-page briefing sheet. The document included commentary about his reporting and interview style being "tricky" and "sensational...though he would consider them to be balanced and fair."
In 2018 WE Communications handled the PR for the McDelivery Day 2.0 and was shortlisted for PRWeek Global Award.

Awards