Phoenix Rises Again
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has recently relocated its original, 60-year-old “The Phoenix” mural to its rental car lobby.
Its beauty and symbolism have a lot of meaning for HMA Public Relations as Phoenix gave rise to an international network of independently owned public relations firms.
It goes back to 1992, when a small group of U.S.-based public relations agency owners met in Phoenix to discuss how to better partner with industry colleagues to share best practices and clients. This was long before the Internet brought the world closer together and having resources outside of local markets was critically important to communications success – particularly those with clients seeking international expertise in crisis communications, media relations and other communications services.
These agencies, HMA included, were part of the Edelman Public Relations Network. When Edelman disbanded their network, we knew we wanted to continue engaging with the other agency owners from around the country.
As we were trying to figure out what this new network would look like, the group decided on the name “The Phoenix Network” as we were rising from the ashes of Edelman (and the fact the meeting was held here in Phoenix). Little did we know at the time that the informal organization we were starting would one day grow to become the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), one of the world’s top international networks of leading independent public relations agencies, which just launched its new website.
By 2002, the organization had expanded its geographic reach to include international markets and changed its name to the Public Relations Global Network to better reflect its growing worldwide presence.
Today, PRGN has 1,000 professionals across 54 markets, and as we continue to rise, PRGN will mark its 30th anniversary next spring by returning to Phoenix for its semi-annual meetings.
Although the size and reach of the organization has changed through the years, its original purpose remains constant: to be an organization comprised of independent agency owners committed to openly sharing knowledge, contacts and resources to fellow members and to serve and promote global clients successfully.
