Spark Public Relations (also referred to as Spark) is a public relations and marketing communications agency headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York City.

Sparkpr
Company typePrivate
IndustryPublic Relations and Marketing Communications
Founded1999 (1999)
FounderDonna (Sokolsky) Burke and Chris Hempel
HeadquartersSan Francisco, CA, USA
Number of employees
70+
Website[1]
Footnotes / references
[1]

History

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Spark Public Relations was founded in 1999 by Donna Sokolsky Burke and Chris Hempel,[2] who started the firm after working at Netscape.[3][4] Its early clients were Silicon Valley start-ups and former Netscape colleagues.[2][5] The firm signed one-year contracts to help with startup launches and IPOs, in exchange for equity in the company. It supported VA Linux's IPO in December 1999.[2][5]

In 2006, Alan Soucy was named CEO, and the managing partner duties were split between Soucy and Burke.[6] In 2007, the firm founded SPR Europe, a London-based affiliate for the European market.[7] An office was opened in South Africa in 2008[8] and in New York in 2012.[9]

Recognition

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In 2016, co-founder Donna Sokolsky Burke was named one of the Top Women in PR by PR News.[10]

In 2020, SparkPR was recognized by Forbes as one of the nation's top PR agencies for 2021. In total, 200 out of 7,000 PR agencies were named to the list.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Tannahill, Jason. "Spark PR: A Tech Public Relations Agency". Everything PR. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Boutin, P. (November, 1999), "Lack of Flacks", WIRED Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 11. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  3. ^ "Mike Homer dies at 50; a former vice president of Netscape". Los Angeles Times. 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  4. ^ "Spark PR: A Technology Public Relations Agency - PR News". everything-pr.com. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  5. ^ a b Clarkson, B. (March 14, 2001). "P.R. agents to startups: Keep quiet!". Computerworld. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Spark PR: A Technology Public Relations Agency - PR News". everything-pr.com. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  7. ^ "SparkPR Expands to London". PRWeek. July 30, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  8. ^ Shah, Aarti. "Sparkpr opens South Africa office, adds clients". PRWeek. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  9. ^ Krietsch, Beth (April 26, 2012). "SparkPR opens New York office". PRWeek. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  10. ^ "Celebrate the 2017 Top Women in PR honorees Jan. 24 in NYC!". PR News. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  11. ^ "Sparkpr Named to Forbes List of America's Best PR Agencies 2021". AP NEWS. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-12-01.