Idea Grove climbed two spots to No. 85 in O'Dwyer's annual ranking of independent PR firms that was released on Monday. O'Dwyer's, which has covered the public relations industry for more than 50 years, has ranked Idea Grove in its Top 100 firms nationally for seven years in a row.
Idea Grove also ranked sixth among Texas agencies and tops among Texas technology PR firms.
According to the publication, firms in the rankings averaged a 3.8% gain in fee income year over year despite the pandemic, although employment decreased by 2.9%. Idea Grove's 2020 revenues rose by 7.2% over 2019 and the company increased from 26 to 28 employees.
In December, Idea Grove was honored to receive the award for "Small Agency of the Year" at the 2020 Pegasus Awards, presented by the Dallas chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). In presenting the award, the PRSA noted Idea Grove's reputation for innovation and excellence, and specifically its ability to rebound from the COVID downturn by pivoting to clients in high-demand tech sectors.
Global giant Edelman topped O'Dwyer's rankings with $840 million in 2020 revenues. O'Dwyer's rankings are verified by income tax and W-3 forms to support fee and employee totals.