Richard Rotman, former publisher of the late arts weekly Metropolis, is an independent public relations counsel and a consultant to Showcase Television.

Jane Langdon, president of Langdon Starr, and Jo-Anne Polak, newly named general manager of Hill and Knowlton, Toronto, work at Yonge and Eglinton streets in Toronto, but the similarities end there.

Spirited, bright Jane Langdon runs her own mid-size public relations shop, brimming with energy and young people.

Groundbreaking ex-Ottawa Rough Riders chief Jo-Anne Polak is the new kid on the block, just handed the formidable assignment of heading Canada’s public relations Titanic, h&k’s Toronto office.

Langdon Starr’s u.s. affiliate, Ketchum Public Relations, recently was awarded Agency of the Year honors by Inside PR.

The progress of the Langon/ Ketchum relationship will be interesting to watch, as it is distinct from the route taken by most of the other larger agencies.

Polak must contend with huge changes in a giant, the loss of key players, the end of Decima’s reign at the top of the research heap (and its separate identity), and the still reverberating wake of h&k’s own u.s. credibility problems.

Many would be surprised to find out that h&k’s headquarters still has more than 90 employees.

Langdon keeps succeeding, almost surprising herself, after starting from ground zero nine years ago with a staff of 14, up from nine in 1993.

A leap forward of 65%; major growth by any standard. ‘Billings have doubled two years in a row,’ Langdon says.

Both have a place in the world of communications services. But what is it?

Some clients could easily hire either firm, and yet the choice of one or the other seems so different when entering their premises so near to each other, yet so far away in effect.

Hill and Knowlton still is grand, marble floors and a receptionist in the middle of a huge entrance way.

Langdon has a modest anteroom and serves the visitor a soft drink, proceeding to a compact corner office, brimming with papers, as if conveying the success she has enjoyed is not uppermost on her agenda.

Polak, a country music fanatic and ex-country and western deejay, gained notoriety as the first and only female to run a football organization, becoming the general manager of the Ottawa Rough Riders at a time when the ability to pay the players was almost always in doubt.

This experience and life in Ottawa has given her sharp political skills, especially in the government relations area.

Polak describes herself as blown away by the talent that has survived the exodus at h&k.

She cites names that are barely known in the industry, but have been the underground strike force of many a successful campaign: Denise Allen, Mark Dodick, Maura Drew-Lytle, Cynthia Zemaria and Lisa Ritchie at Decima.

Mike Tindall, who orchestrated much of the recent Windows 95 irradiation, is also singled out for special mention.

There is no question that at any time h&k can be a formidable competitor, if new chief Mike Coates and Polak can rearrange the deck chairs all in the same row.

Its government relations capabilities are unparalleled, and for all the industry gossip about the departures and fate of the agency, it is only fair to admit that it was time for a change at h&k, that the former leadership, despite its connections and acumen, was anything but hands-on in a highly tactile era.

So, when the changes came and ‘the big man joined the band,’ as Bruce Springsteen so poetically described it, h&k rose to the occasion.

Rumors had already placed another person in the top spot in Toronto, but the Ottawa takeover of the national organization, with Coates and Polak in charge, became complete.

And despite the desertions, h&k’s client base remained stable, managing to hold on to its signature relationship with Microsoft, among others.

Langdon, however, disclaims size as any measure of quality.

Calling her own staff ‘doer-managers,’ and asserting that with her $1.4 million in billings she can act big but think fast with low overhead, Langdon says the growth of her firm is an example of the growing maturity and acceptance of public relations in the Canadian market.

Names such as Molson and Coca-Cola adorn her client list, and new senior staff such as vice-presidents Patrick McGee in public affairs and Jo Lubbock in consumer products have joined the firm.

‘Public relations is still difficult to break out as a measure of success in the middle of many different messages,’ Polak says. ‘But it can be effective as part of the mix, and clients are recognizing that.’

Langdon’s choice of a different path toward links outside Canada is also worth watching. Choosing an affiliation, rather than a buyout, preserves independence, while enhancing capabilities.

The remarkably creative Ketchum is not well known here, but, according to Inside PR is ‘a feared competitor that gets invited to almost all the major shootouts and wins more than its share, an unparalleled ability to attract and retain good people.’

Something like that also describes Langdon Starr.

Who will prevail at Yonge and Eglinton?

To comment on this column, contact Richard E. Rotman c/o Strategy or on the Internet at : 73117.2435@ CompuServe.com.