• April 29, 2011

Edelman has won the latest skirmish in the war between PR shops and ad agencies for social media accounts. Just days after one of Edelman's top digital honchos Michael Wiley departed the PR firm to lead social media for Publicis' media agency unit VivaKi, Edelman said Volkswagen Group of America chose it over several digital agencies as the automaker's social media agency of record.

Edelman had previously been Volkswagen's PR agency of record in January. Edelman said its social media work for Volkswagen -- which has already begun -- includes engagement and strategy, community management and content development across platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and VW's network of blogs. The work will include social media support for the upcoming launches of the 2012 Beetle and Passat. PR Week on Friday reported that Volkswagen retained Edelman for three years at an annual budget exceeding $1 million. --Les Luchter