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Hill & Knowlton was rebranded to Burson (Jul 2024)— see Burson for current status.— See the full lineage →

Hill & Knowlton

Public Relations & Corporate CommunicationsAgency

Hill & Knowlton, now operating under the Burson brand, was an American global public relations consulting company headquartered in New York City, founded in Cleveland in 1927 by John W. Hill and owned by WPP Group.

Last updated Oct 23, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Founded
1927
HQ
New York, New York, United States
Connections
7

AI-drafted from public sources15 sources cited

At a glance

Employees
5001-10000
Revenue
$500M+
2integrations3competitors
Marketing Agency

About

One of the world's largest and most storied public relations firms, now absorbed into Burson — WPP's flagship global communications group — following its 2024 merger with BCW.

Hill & Knowlton, now operating under the Burson brand, was an American global public relations consulting company headquartered in New York City, founded in Cleveland in 1927 by John W. Hill and owned by WPP Group. In November 2023, Hill & Knowlton launched a global intelligence and technology unit and announced a partnership with Pendulum Intelligence to develop a tool helping clients combat disinformation. In 2024, WPP merged Hill & Knowlton with BCW to form Burson, a combined entity with more than 6,000 employees across 43 markets worldwide. Within the Burson group, Hill & Knowlton continues as a full-service global firm focused on business and brand transformation, providing strategic communication, marketing, and corporate affairs solutions. Source 1: wikipedia.org — Hill & Knowlton Source 2: medianews4u.com — WPP merges Hill & Knowlton and BCW to form Burson Source 3: communicateonline.me — WPP Announces Official Launch of Global ...

Business model

Agency

Target market

Enterprise

What they offer

  • Strategic Communications

    Counsel on corporate reputation, crisis management, and stakeholder engagement for major global clients.

  • Corporate Affairs

    Government relations, public affairs, and policy advisory services across international markets.

  • Marketing & Brand Transformation

    Integrated marketing communications and brand strategy services for enterprise clients.

  • Intelligence & Technology Unit

    Launched in 2023, this unit combined data analytics and intelligence capabilities, including a partnership with Pendulum Intelligence to help clients combat disinformation.

Key features

Global network spanning dozens of marketsIntegrated PR, corporate affairs, and marketing communicationsCrisis communications and reputation managementDisinformation monitoring and intelligence capabilitiesDeep sector expertise across industries including healthcare, technology, and energy

Use cases

Corporate reputation managementCrisis communicationsGovernment and public affairsBrand and business transformation communicationsDisinformation monitoring and responseExecutive positioning and thought leadership

Customer segments

Fortune 500 corporationsGovernment and public sector bodiesHealthcare and pharmaceutical companiesTechnology companiesEnergy and industrial companiesFinancial services firms

Tech & specs

Technology stack

Pendulum Intelligence (disinformation monitoring)Proprietary intelligence and analytics platforms

Security & compliance

GDPR

Deployment

Managed Service

API

No

Corporate history
  1. 1927 · Founded
  2. 2024Became Burson
Connection details
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