Wirthlin Worldwide was an American

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

business consulting A business consultant (from Latin ''consultare'', "to discuss") is a professional who provides professional or expert advice or service in a particular area such as security (electronic or physical), management, accountancy, law, human resources, ma ...

firm founded by

Richard Wirthlin Richard Bitner ("Dick") Wirthlin (March 15, 1931March 16, 2011) was a prominent American pollster, who is best known as Ronald Reagan's chief strategist, serving as his political consultant and pollster for twenty years, from 1968 through the end ...

in 1969. The company specialized in polls and their interpretation. In addition to political consulting, Wirthlin Worldwide also provided research for non-profits and industry, covering topics such as handwashing behavior after using public toilets, post-

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hun ...

charitable giving, the impact of a company's ethical image on consumer purchasing behavior, and preferred methods for purchasing prescription drugs. 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.

History

Originally established as Decision Making Information, Inc,Wirthlin Worldwide - Our Firm
Last accessed 2007-03-26. Wirthlin Worldwide was founded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1969 by Dr. Richard Bitner Wirthlin. Wirthlin was an economist with a PhD in economics from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. In 1980, Wirthlin Worldwide was asked to help with the presidential campaign of the then-

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. This led to continued engagements throughout the two terms of President Reagan, including the second presidential campaign. During its existence, the company 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. Wirthlin Worldwide won the

ARF ARF may refer to: Organizations * Advertising Research Foundation * Animal Rescue Foundation * Armenian Revolutionary Federation * ASEAN Regional Forum People * Cahit Arf (1910–1997), Turkish mathematician Science, medicine, and mathematics * ...

David Ogilvy Advertising "Grand Winner" Award four times, most recently in 2002 for its research work on the Robert Wood Johnson "Covering Kids" campaign. 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.Harris Interactive Buys Wirthlin for $20 million and stock
Direct, September 13, 2004. The stock was valued at 21.8m.

References

External links

Wirthlin Worldwide
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by progr ...

{{Authority control Public opinion research companies in the United States Management consulting firms of the United States International management consulting firms Political consulting firms Consulting firms established in 1969 1969 establishments in California Companies disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in Virginia 2004 mergers and acquisitions 1969 establishments in the United States