WE Twendz Grabs PR Innovation of the Year Distinction at 2010 PR Week Awards

WAGGENER EDSTROM WORLDWIDE’S REAL-TIME TWITTER EMOTION MONITORING TOOL GAINS ACCOLADES, TIMED WITH ITS ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

NEW YORK — March 11, 2010- Global communications agency Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (WE) received the PR Innovation of the Year award for its WE twendz™ application, (http://www.twendz.com), a real-time Twitter emotion monitoring tool, at the 2010 PRWeek Awards, held in New York City this evening. The recognition coincides with the first anniversary of the twendz tool, and is the fifth award received since its introduction.

The PR Innovation of the Year award recognizes the top tool designed for use within the public relations community that shows lasting impact on the practice of public relations. The award is determined by a panel of judges, composed of both agency and corporate PR professionals. Following a series of awards and distinctions over the past year, the twendz tool stood out among the other four finalists for its ability to tap into the power of Twitter, and provide insight into brewing trends, conversation topics, emotion and points of view within the Twitter conversation.

“We are thrilled to celebrate a key milestone for twendz with such positive industry recognition in an area where we are continuing to invest and introduce new services,” said Karla Wachter, senior vice president of product development at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. “twendz was created to better understand the meaning behind tweets, as we, along with the rest of the PR community, make sense of the increasing chatter in the social media space.”

Building on the success of the twendz application, WE recently launched the WE twendz pro™ service (http://www.twendzpro.com), a Twitter influence analytics service that helps measure brand impact and engage audiences on Twitter. This customizable analytics service gathers tweets, assigns influence ratings and calculates metrics to show how a brand is being discussed within Twitter conversations. More information and a view of the twendz pro service in action are available to explore at the twendz pro service dashboards.

About Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (WE) is a global, integrated communications agency. For more than 25 years, the independently owned firm has developed strategic communications programs for innovative and world-changing clients, working to influence markets, inspire people and improve lives. In 2009, WE was named one of Oregon Business' 100 Best Companies to Work For. WE was also named European Technology Agency of the Year in 2008 and Best Large Agency to Work For by the Holmes Report in 2006. WE has earned numerous honors for its outstanding work on behalf of clients, for its exceptional people and for its innovation in communications. The agency has more than 800 employees in 16 offices around the world, and its 17 Global Alliance partners expand the agency's reach to 30 additional international markets. WE has six global practices: Consumer Marketing, Corporate Communications, Healthcare, Public Affairs, WE Social Innovation and Technology, along with its digital strategies group, WE Studio D™. More information can be found at WaggenerEdstrom.com.

Waggener Edstrom, Innovation Communications and WE Studio D are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.