The Grayling Agency was declared a winner in the Public Affairs Consultancy of the Year category at the gala event SABRE Awards EMEA 2019, held in London. The international network with 31 offices in 22 European countries was recognized for growth in Public Affairs across Europe and for success in implementing multi-market activities for large global clients.
The jury led by Paul Holmes of the Holmes Report platform said: “Grayling is one of the few companies that can bring together dedicated professionals from every region in Europe to provide their views of the situation and services. Also, Grayling managed to establish itself as a leader in strategic thinking on Brexit, pointing to the risks associated with company supply chains and providing data and analyzes to the key committees in the UK.”
Public Affairs is just one of the pillars of the Grayling agency (the agency also deals with corporate communications and public relations), but it has just achieved the strongest performance in this area in 2018 with an increase of 15%. Growth has been prompted by a number of new projects with clients such as Molson Coors, BetStars, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Danone, Environmental Defense Fund and Herbalife Nutrition.
Russell Patten, CEO of Grayling in Brussels and European Public Affairs President, said: “This is a prestigious award and Grayling teams across continental Europe are very proud of this achievement. As political and regulatory circumstances for many companies become more and more challenging, demand for consulting in Public Affairs is growing. From the perspective of Brussels, most attention was focused on the uncertainty caused by Brexit, but it is expected that the EU elections will further shake the appearance of the European Union’s political scene.”
Jan Simunek, general manager of the Grayling agency for continental Europe, added: “Public Affairs has been a strategic priority for the Grayling agency in Europe for several years now. We have developed a diverse offer for our clients, based on the knowledge and experience of more than a hundred outstanding Public Affairs consultants across the region – from Madrid to Moscow.”