Margery Kraus 

At a time when we are living in historic political flux worldwide, the change in the political climate in Washington, D.C., is one of the most significant components that affect the formation of critical business strategies around the world. History has shown time and again that many business analysts and critics prematurely anticipate the effects of a change in government policy, which in turn cause ripple effects in global markets. More often than not, many of these early market reactions are biased and misleading. Read More>>
    

Bryan Dumont, president, APCO Insight^®; Evan Kraus, senior vice president and director, APCO Online^®; Washington, D.C.

There is no doubt that social media plays an important role in enhancing a company's communication efforts. However, many companies are at a loss when it comes to finding the best way to capitalize on their social media investment. It's easy to set up a presence on top social media sites - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube - but companies today have access to few metrics that truly measure the effectiveness of these efforts. Is simply counting up a company's Facebook followers really the best way to define social media success?   Read More>>
    

Kirk Stewart, executive vice president, New York
Bryan Dumont, president, APCO Insight^®, Washington, D.C.

By some measures, the economy is beginning to show modest signs of recovery. But even though consumer confidence is slowly improving, companies continue to confront challenges that affect public confidence and the ability to remain competitive in the marketplace. Read More>>
    

Magdalena Stepien, senior associate, London

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, with reference made to "fiscal policy," "regulating retail" and taking a "precautionary approach to protecting young people against marketing techniques." With comparable measures previously applied to the tobacco and fast food sectors, a similar global clampdown on alcohol is now underway. Read More>>
    

Steven King, associate director; and Pratyush, consultant; New Delhi

President Obama's visit to India in early November was unusual. For four of the last six decades, India was very far from an U.S. ally and has only in the last 10 years been described as a partner. Coming as it did on the heels of the Democrats' drubbing in the U.S. mid-term elections, the trip acquired unique domestic overtones, too. Read More>>
    

Roger Somerville, director, Beijing

Barry Schumacher, senior vice president, Washington, D.C.

The Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives and the significant Republican gains made in the U.S. Senate and in state and local races is evidence that the diverse coalition of voters that brought President Obama and Democrats to power in 2006 and 2008 has frayed and may have disappeared. The 2010 elections further demonstrate that the United States has become a more polarized nation with a large portion of the population in the political center without a strong allegiance to Democrats or Republicans. Neither party has figured out how to maintain a consistent governing coalition to address voters' needs. Read More>>
    

Bill Dalbec, senior vice president, Washington, D.C.

The second annual APCO Worldwide/Gagen MacDonald employee confidence survey, completed earlier this month, shows continued employee resilience in the face of ongoing uncertain economic times. The survey indicates a slight softening in employees' overall confidence compared to a year ago, but reveals they still feel very connected to their employers despite continued questions about reciprocal loyalty and the performance of senior management.  Read More>>
    

Early 2009 was a bad time to be in the meeting, event and incentive travel business. Already hurt by the economic slowdown, things got worse once policy-makers and the media realized that attacking corporate "fat cats" was good politics and good for TV ratings. The media and political firestorm driven by executive compensation soon morphed into a firestorm of sensational media stories attacking legitimate corporate travel. Read More>>

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CASE STUDY SPOTLIGHT

RECENT ACCOLADES

CONNECT WITH US

JIWIN NOW PART OF APCO

FEATURED COMMENTARY