I have said before that digital marketing firms have the edge over PR firms in China in terms of “getting” IWOM. Of course, I always expected PR firms to put up a fight. Enter Edelman China.

Worldwide, Edelman is seen as one of the first and best firms to integrate IWOM into its PR practice. And while there have been setbacks (the Walmart flogging incident in the US shows the bruises of a pioneer), all in all, they have pushed forward admirably.

Recently, Edelman set up Edelman Digital, a global practice being rolled out in all markets, to be headed by Rick Murray out of Chicago. I met Rick in Chicago in 2005 and can attest he is the real deal in terms of pushing forward digital for PR.

In China, Edelman Digital is led by Adam Schokora, who up until now, has headed up Edelman China’s social media, digital, and interactive strategy for the firm. Adam is a “digital native” and is fluent in Chinese. We worked with Adam on our first white paper on health, which we released together with Edelman.

While I think that PR firms are behind a bit in China with so much focus on events and traditional media, I am excited to see Edelman take a step in the right direction. Their step brings further validation to the IWOM industry. You will find Adam sharing thoughts on Chinese IWOM on the Edelman Digital blog here. If all goes well, I will interview Adam in March for ITV-Asia, just as Tom Doctoroff interviewed me last year. More on this later…