Last week I was invited to participate with a client in a week-long gathering of their PR practitioners from around the world. The company, Amway (for American Way), began in Ada, Michigan in 1959 as a model of entrepreneurialism and free enterprise. It now conducts 90 percent of its business outside of the U.S. Over those 51 years, it built itself into a diverse, multicultural company that operates local businesses in approximately 80 markets around the world. This is very different from a U.S. company that opens a few offices around the world headed by executives sent from HQ.

So how did my experience differ from a meeting of U.S. colleagues and what did I learn in the process?  Read on to see…

This year, the Council of Public Relations Firms’ annual Critical Issues Forum was themed "Aftershock: Rebuilding Trust and Confidence in 2010.” Directly after the conclusion of the Forum, Ralph Katz and two other members of the Agency Management Committee (which is responsible for the Forum’s direction and content) were interviewed about their key takeaways from the event.

From time to time I am copied on nice notes from clients following a great hit or the execution of a successful event. Recently, however, I was cc’d on one of the most satisfying thank you notes I have ever seen. It was from our client to the CooperKatz director on the account. What made this thank you extra special was that it was not connected with a specific spectacular result. Rather, it was an out-of-the-blue note about the team of people we have assembled to work with her.

New 4500 square foot, interactive Amway Welcome Center, designed and developed by CooperKatz, Whirlwind Creative and a core team from Amway, opens in Ada, Michigan on Amway's 50th anniversary.

CooperKatz joins Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), an international organization of leading independently owned public relations agencies working together to serve clients with local knowledge and global reach. With the induction of CooperKatz, The Harrell Group from Dallas and GroundFloor Media from Denver at the Network’s April meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the network now consists of 40 member agencies operating on six continents worldwide.