We had an important birthday party on Wednesday night in London. Edelman UK celebrated its 50th Anniversary and feted office founder Michael Morley. With over 500 people and $80 million in fees, Edelman UK today is the market leader, under the inspired leadership of Ed Williams. But it was not always so easy…
Morley recounted the story of his first meeting with Dan Edelman, my dad, who aspired to globalize the firm by following key client Gillette. The UK based client, Jon Peters, introduced the two at lunch, then discreetly disappeared. My father did his usual thorough interview, asking about most creative work, connections in the local business community and management style. But he then took the opportunity to offer Morley two pieces of advice: fix your teeth and always wear high socks so clients don’t see your calves when you cross your legs.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the intense style, Morley took the plunge and opened the first office outside of the U.S. on Dover Street in London, in what he described as a “condemned building with a very low rent because the landlord was waiting for permission to demolish and build a proper high-rise.” Without a phone system because of backlogs at British Telecom, Morley had to resort to using the red phone box outside of the office. He would schedule calls with clients, run downstairs to answer the phone as Edelman, sometimes having to provide financial incentives to a long-winded user to end a call.
Within a few years, Edelman became the leading marketing PR firm in London, working with global brands such as Kimberly Clark, Mars and Gillette. Techniques such as the media tour were imported from America. Morley won important assignments such as the Concorde SST landing rights fight in Washington and New York. My parents would visit regularly. On one trip, my mother intervened forcefully at a press lunch, accosting the chef at the Savoy Hotel, telling him that the appetizers were inedible and insisting that he change them immediately.
As president of Edelman International, Morley was central to our firm’s global expansion, opening offices on the continent in France and Germany, then into Asia with Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. He relocated to New York in the mid-80s to be closer to the global clients. He ran the Go For It America campaign for British Airways, a one-day, all seats free promotion to regain the confidence of American air travelers after the American intervention in Libya had paralyzed trans-Atlantic travel. He also worked with me in secret for six weeks on the largest professional services merger in history, Ernst & Whinney combining with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young. When asked about his favorite pitch in his 35 years of service, he said the win of Tourism Canada; the client, in a post-mortem, referred to Edelman affectionately as a MASH unit, with lots of enthusiasm, a bit disorganized, full of ideas and sure to get the job done.
Morley was a mentor to so many at Edelman, including many who have gone on to distinguished careers, from Judi Mackey at Lazard to Amanda Duckworth at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers to Matt Harrington, now our Global COO. His decency and integrity are very much evident in his four admonitions to the senior team at dinner in London after the event. He asked that they lead the charge to make sure that Social Media does not become Anti-Social media. He insisted that the right way is Principled Persuasion not Manipulative or Malevolent Messaging. He wanted us to counter the trend towards a me/my country first mentality, to change it to a mutual benefits society. And finally, to find ways to fuel people’s aspirations instead of their fears. It sounds like a plan, Michael. Thank you on behalf of the people of Edelman, past and present. We will work every day to preserve your legacy.
Richard Edelman is president and CEO.