THURSDAY, 18 MAY 2006

WEBER SHANDWICK APPOINTS HEAD OF NEW PRACTICE FOR ETHNIC PR DRIVE

Weber Shandwick today announces the appointment of Rakhee Vithlani as Head of M-CC (Multi-Cultural Communications), a specialist public relations practice aimed at assisting brands, companies and organisations to communicate with ethnic groups in the UK.

OLONDON, May 18 2006 – Britain's ethnic minority population is growing 15 times faster than the white population and it is predicted that by 2010, over 30% of the population in metropolitan centres will be from ethnic communities . As the UK becomes increasingly diverse, the media industry is seeing a marked increase in the number of companies demanding PR expertise in order to create communications strategies to reach out to groups with different ethnic backgrounds.

Weber Shandwick today announces the establishment of a new practice to help mainstream UK companies, brands and organisations reach ethnic consumers and citizens.

Head of MC-C, Rakhee Vithlani, previously a senior consultant at Weber Shandwick’s Consumer divison, will lead the practice. Rakhee will work across all divisions and offices of Weber Shandwick to counsel existing clients and advise on how using the media to communicate with ethnic groups in the UK can lead to a enhanced brand visibility and help enforce positive company reputations. Rakhee will also advise public sector clients on communications strategies in line with new and existing policies.

Rakhee comments, “ As experts in PR communications, we need to move with changing times. It is clear that that an increase in diverse audiences in the UK is leading to a shift in the UK media landscape. The UK media industry now has dedicated publishing houses creating newspapers, magazines, radio and television channels aimed specifically at ethnic groups. A better understanding of these media and ethnic groups presents us with a challenging but incredibly exciting business and communications opportunity”.

Colin Byrne CEO comments “There has been a significant increase in the number of our clients across all our practices and offices asking for this expertise. M-CC is a positive move to formalise this specialism”.

Notes to editors:

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• In the UK as a whole, the 2001 Census found that 8% of the population were from a non-white ethnic group. However, in London, as many as 28% of the population are from an ethnic group

• The growth of ethnic groups in the UK is not restricted to London – for example, Leicester and Birmingham are both on course as cities whose population will outnumber the white population by 2010 .

• Major brands already communicate with ethnic groups in the UK as part of their marketing, advertising and PR strategies. For example, Mercedes sells a high percentage of its top range luxury cars to Asians.

• Various studies estimate the spending power of the Asian consumer in the UK at between £10 billion to £13 billion, hugely disproportionate to the number of Asians who make up the population

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Weber Shandwick is one of the world's leading global public relations firms with offices in major media, business and government capitals around the world. The firm specializes in strategic marketing communications and media relations programs, public affairs issues and provides corporate communications counseling. Weber Shandwick also provides specialized integrated services including Web relations, advocacy advertising, market research and visual communications. Find out more at www.webershandwick.com.

Weber Shandwick is a unit of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), which is among the world's largest advertising and marketing services organizations.

Contact: RVithlani@webershandwick.com

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