Luc Beauregard launched National Public Relations in 1976 as a one-man operation, with every expectation of keeping it that way. “My intent was to remain a solo consultant. So I failed at that objective,” he now recalls with a laugh.
Beauregard can afford to joke about this “failure” because 32 years after starting his tiny firm in Montreal, he now presides over the largest public relations network in Canada, with eight offices across the country as well as in New York and London. In addition, parent company Res Publica-of which Beauregard is chairman and CEO-also owns Cohn & Wolfe, having acquired it from U.S.-based PR firm Burson-Marsteller in 1995.
Client loyalty has been a key factor in National’s success. Companies such as Molson, the City of Laval, the National Bank of Canada and McDonald’s, have been clients for more than 20 years, forming a solid base of business that has helped fuel the network’s expansion.
While Beauregard (who worked as a journalist at Montreal’s La Presse and Montreal Matin and in federal and provincial government communications before starting his agency) believes public relations can serve a marketing function, he says it also plays a more critical advisory role for corporations. “I view public relations as much closer to legal counsel than anything else,” he says.
Given the respect Beauregard has earned from the PR industry-he served as president of the CPRS in 1984 and president of the organization’s College of Fellows from 2001 to 2007-there is little doubt that Beauregard has made a strong case for his approach to public relations.
