Founder Richard Wirthlin Type of business private | Founded 1969 | |
Industry public opinion research Website wirthlin.com (archived) Headquarters Reston, Virginia, United States | ||
Wirthlin Worldwide was a political and business consulting firm founded by Richard Wirthlin in 1969. It ceased to operate as a separate company on September 8, 2004 when it was sold to Harris Interactive in a deal valued at $42 million.
Contents
Wirthlin Worldwide specialized in polls and their interpretation. In addition to political consulting, Wirthlin Worldwide also provided research for non-profits and industry, covering topics as varied as hand washing behavior after using public toilets, post September 11 charitable giving, the impact of a company's ethical image on consumer purchasing behavior, and preferred methods for purchasing prescription drugs
History
Wirthlin Worldwide, originally Decision Making Information, Inc, was founded in Los Angeles in 1969 by Dr. Richard Bitner Wirthlin. Wirthlin was an economist with a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. During its life it went through two name changes, The Wirthlin Group in the 1990s and Wirthlin Worldwide at the beginning of the 21st century. It was finally sold and merged into Harris Interactive in the fall of 2004. The company website was shut down and began redirecting to Harris Interactive on March 16, 2005.
When the firm was first founded its offices were in Los Angeles. In 1980 it was asked to help with the presidential campaign of then governor of California, Ronald Reagan. This led to continued engagements throughout the two terms of President Reagan, including the second presidential campaign.
Wirthlin Worldwide won the ARF David Ogilvy Advertising "Grand Winner" Award four times, most recently in 2002 for its research work on the Robert Wood Johnson "Covering Kids" campaign.
By the time of its acquisition by Harris Interactive in 2004, Wirthlin had grown from a small firm in Los Angeles to a global consultancy with offices in the United States, Europe, and China. It also had an Australian affiliate, Crosby|Textor
Clients
During its history Wirthlin Worldwide worked for a variety of non-profit, political and industry organizations.
Industry clients included:
Non-industry related non-profit clients included: