Cohn & Wolfe Reviews in San Francisco, CA

Current Employee – been working at Cohn & Wolfe

Pros – I've worked at/with many big firms, like Fleishman-Hillard and Burson Marsteller, where employees are worked to the bone, turnover is high, morale is low, there's a lack of respect and little support, training is non-existent, and there is little to no positive reinforcement for a job well done. C&W is completely the opposite. In the SF office specifically, we're like one big family. People show respect for one another, chip in to help out where they can and genuinely like working together. Respect for others, Quality Work, Personal Accountability and Work Life Balance are core values that define the culture.

Developing Creative Campaigns and programs is a top priority that results in happy clients and employees truly enjoying the work we do everyday. And I love the fact that C&W is a forward thinking company; being one of the first to develop world class offerings and expertise in such areas as Digital Media and Sustainability. There is also a ton of cross-office and cross-practice collaboration and ideation that brings together the best thinking for current clients and helps us shine in new business presentations. And on the training and professional advisor front, employees have been thrilled with the ongoing webcasts, on-site trainings and support we receive from our Professional Advisors to help us advance our careers, learn new skills, and become the best we can be.

Over the last six years, I've met great people across the network that truly are some of the best, brightest and most creative in the industry. I'm proud to say I work here and expect to be here for years to come.

Cons – The biggest con at this time is more about the economy than C&W. The reality is that our clients are unsure of their own job security, and have had budget and staff cuts, so they are working twice as hard themselves. In addition, expectations are high and results need to directly demonstrate how PR has helped drive sales. As a result, we and our clients are having to work longer hours and are under extreme scrutiny and pressures from senior management.

In 2009, Marketing also faces several key challenges that we as integrated marketing strategists are helping our clients address on how to:
â?¢ Speed time-to-market for new campaigns to gain a competitive edge
â?¢ Target new global markets while protecting brand messaging consistency
â?¢ Increase sales leads and conversion rates while reducing overall marketing spend
â?¢ Build customer communities to enhance market insight and customer loyalty
â?¢ Boost sales force and channel productivity while lowering training and roll-out costs

In addition, our clients are desperately trying to navigate the rapidly changing digital media landscape to move from one-way marketing channels to authentic, two-way conversations in order to achieve business results and competitive advantage. So we spend significant effort to stay on top of it all and to update/train employees ongoing.

It's a very busy time and I think most of us are uncertain as to when the economy will make a real rebound. That said, I'm hopeful that we try our best to continue to be a supportive and collaborative team--both at the agency and with our clients--so we can all get through this together.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep your eye on the ball. Continue to be watching both the day-to-day as much as the "what's next" for our clients, our industry and our craft. And don't forget, we all win or lose together so please continue to push for cross-office teaming.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend