Burson was assembled from two giant PR firms to solve an old problem with a new instrument: making reputation legible before the crisis arrives. The experiment is part consultancy, part creative shop, and increasingly part software lab.
MikeWorldWide gave up $2.5 million in unprofitable business, cut its client roster by 40%, and grew anyway. The arithmetic explains a 40-year-old PR firm that would rather own its choices than merely look large.