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About

About Us

John Ruane has supported top 20 pharmaceutical companies, Fortune 500 consumer products corporations, high profile sporting events and innovative technology companies. His work across industries has afforded an understanding of best practices in each of those business areas, which he has been able to apply to other client programs achieving great success. 

Best PR Firm in Atlanta delivers breaking news
Ruane PR was listed as a top 20 PR firm in Atlanta
Major newsroom experience makes the difference for Ruane PR
A dedicated social media professional helps clients extend messaging across all appropriate platforms

Our Story

After working at a major PR agency, Edelman, and then having four agencies report to him at the Upjohn Company, John Ruane realized there was a major need in the public relations industry. Seeing the industry accepted practices, Ruane saw an opportunity to provide experienced service at cost-effective rates.

In June of 1998, the longtime journalist and public relations counselor, founded Ruane Communications offering clients director-level service. Boehringer Ingelheim was the firm's first client, becoming the agency of record for BI's respiratory business. Headquartered in the Atlanta area, Ruane staffed his team with director-level professionals, creating and implementing award-winning programs to promote COPD education and Combivent as a safe and effective treatment. Ruane secured the first celebrity spokesperson, Loni Anderson, followed by Robert Klein and Roger Clemens. Each spokesperson was media trained to deliver their own personal experience with COPD. They were each paired with a physician spokesperson to discuss the medical information for the news media.  Each of the three campaigns set media coverage records, drove sales of BI's treatments and won industry awards. 

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With BI established as the anchor client, the firm added a Chicago office and went on to sign several other new customers including Roxane Labs, Abbott, GSK, Coca-Cola, CSL Behring and Purdue Pharma among others. Ruane Communications wealth of experience with consumer products, sports marketing and technology campaigns enabled the firm to apply cross-industry best practices to health care campaigns. Besides the innovative out-of-the-box strategic thinking, clients were amazed at the relatively low budgets and the ability of Ruane PR to directly secure celebrity spokespeople, which saved money. 

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The company's success continued until 2020 when COVID severely impacted the firm and Ruane Communications closed the Chicago office. Entering 2023, the firm rebranded under Ruane PR, offering full marketing campaigns for small to midsized businesses.

           PRESIDENT

John Ruane started his career writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, before being recruited by Edelman in Chicago. He joined the firm, working just down the hall from the legendary founder, Dan Edelman. Managing six clients, Ruane soon found that his newsroom experience enabled him to be very successful gaining media placements for clients.

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A few years later, he was recruited by The Upjohn Company managing Rx treatments in five disease areas before being promoted to head the consumer products division’s public relations department. With four major PR agencies reporting to him, he directed the communications for the launch of Luvox for OCD, Rescriptor for HIV-AIDS and Rogaine Extra Strength for hair loss. After Upjohn merged with Pharmacia, a new CEO announced the Kalamazoo-based company would moved to New Jersey. Ruane took the buyout and launched Ruane Communications from Atlanta, offering skilled and experienced service at cost-effective rates.

John Ruane is founder of Ruane PR and brings extensive journalism experience to the firm

After landing Boehringer Ingelheim as an anchor client, Ruane built up his firm hiring several director-level professionals to deliver the experience promised in the company’s mission statement. Over the next decade, the firm created and implemented national campaigns, generating record-setting media coverage for clients and earned ten industry awards. Following COVID, and adjusting to a changing business world, he rebranded his company Ruane PR, headquartered in Atlanta.

 

In addition to his work in public relations, Ruane is a best-selling author of six books and five stage plays. He is best known for his crit­ically-acclaimed books, Parish the Thought (Simon & Schuster, 2008) and Parish the Thought Too (Roswell Press, 2023).  His new play, Final Audition, was performed at The Art Place Theatre in Marietta and was a major success, drawing wide-ranging audiences from high school students to seniors, all of whom loved the show. (www.finalaudition.net).

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On the personal side, John and his wife, Charlotte, are proud parents of four wonderful adult children and four beautiful grandchildren. 

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