IABC New South Wales’ Post

The PR industry is abuzz with the big news of the day, and it's been fascinating to see the range of reactions. From excitement to nostalgia for old brands and heritage, to questions about whether other holding companies will follow suit. It's no surprise that we've seen a lot of M&A activity in the past year, both in big and small agencies. With multi-million-dollar RFPs declining, agencies are looking for new ways to deliver growth and innovation. As someone who has led a merger myself, I understand the importance of creating something new and special. When we merged FH and Fishburn, our focus was on 1+1=3. We knew that we had to create a unique culture that would benefit our clients and talent and make them feel the change. So, I wish all the best to those at Burson. May you find something new and special in your new brand. Read more about the BCW Hill+Knowlton merger here: https://lnkd.in/eD4iQAtu

Kate Rowlinson, our UK CEO, weighs in on whether agencies will move to a holding company solution for their biggest clients.🔍 With agencies like EssenceMediacom already seeing strong benefits, it's clear that integrated approaches can lead to faster, more effective campaigns. But is this the best strategy for everyone? Explore different perspectives on agency mergers and cross-agency collaboration from industry leaders in Campaign UK here👉 https://bit.ly/3xGUBYl #MarketingStrategy #AgencyCollaboration #BusinessGrowth

Events are essential for announcing financial results, a merger, and other important matters. Here are a few tips to help you start on your way to mastering events management. #pr #eventsmanagement #publicity #prbyumbrella

Wow - surprising news regarding the Hill & Knowlton and BCW Global merger. Usually, I see mergers where one of the agencies is struggling so it's a sort of rescue bid/cash injection or where the agency has peaked and the owner makes a sale for an epic payday. This represents two big agencies coming together, perhaps to take on the likes of Edelman? In a previous post, I did write how consolidation seems to be at an all time high as market conditions remain tough. Are we seeing a slow down in the prevalence of the mid size/fairly big agency in favour of either smaller, agile "agency's of tomorrows" and the giants? It will be interesting to see how or if this changes the middle ground. Clearly the attitude of some PR agencies in 2024 is go big or go home! #bradshawsearch #pr #bcw #hillandknowlton #communications

I saw a piece on Campaign last week (https://lnkd.in/eiFX-NgE) on whether agency brands are on the wane or not. Some interesting insight from agency leaders following a number of big mergers happening in the industry.   Something we’ve always believed at Creativebrief is that agency brands are a powerful tool for agencies. And we couldn’t agree more on the statements of how important it is to build a brand in today’s economy, treating your agency brand as you would any client brand you’re working on.   In the classic way that we know the brands which invest in their marketing and spend through economic downturn come out on top, the same applies to agencies.   For agencies of all shapes and sizes, it’s super important to continue to invest in new business and marketing strategies, agency brands and talent. The power of agency brands is not to be underestimated.

After months of negotiation, media giants Skydance and Paramount agreed to a merger. 🎬 Vested Managing Director Ted Birkhahn shared his thoughts on the impacts that the M&A process can have on employees and culture with Ragan Communications and PR Daily. “Communicators must put themselves in employees’ shoes to construct and execute an effective communications strategy,” Birkhahn said. “Communicators must communicate succinctly, with frequency, and with as much transparency as possible. Anything less will do more harm than good.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/e8uqDbYP #MergersAndAcquisitions #IndustryInsights #EmployeeEngagement"

Integration Plan: Do you have a detailed plan for integrating my agency into your organization, and how do you envision it impacting the day-to-day operations of my business based on your experience of integrating agencies you’ve acquired and integrated in your firm? Can you give me a couple examples of what you look for in a firm you feel would be a good fit for your firm? Client Transition: How will you ensure a smooth transition for our clients during the acquisition process to maintain trust and continuity of service? https://bit.ly/4aRbgqe #CommPRO #PR

Integration Plan: Do you have a detailed plan for integrating my agency into your organization, and how do you envision it impacting the day-to-day operations of my business based on your experience of integrating agencies you’ve acquired and integrated in your firm? Can you give me a couple examples of what you look for in a firm you feel would be a good fit for your firm? Client Transition: How will you ensure a smooth transition for our clients during the acquisition process to maintain trust and continuity of service? https://bit.ly/4aRbgqe #CommPRO #PR

Integration Plan: Do you have a detailed plan for integrating my agency into your organization, and how do you envision it impacting the day-to-day operations of my business based on your experience of integrating agencies you’ve acquired and integrated in your firm? Can you give me a couple examples of what you look for in a firm you feel would be a good fit for your firm? Client Transition: How will you ensure a smooth transition for our clients during the acquisition process to maintain trust and continuity of service? https://bit.ly/4aRbgqe #CommPRO #PR

Through the creation by Burson by WPP, Corey duBrowa, currently global CEO of BCW Global, has been named global CEO of Burson and AnnaMaria DeSalva, currently, global chairman and CEO of Hill & Knowlton, has been named global chairman of Burson. Mark Read, CEO of WPP, stated, “Hill & Knowlton and BCW are two high-performing businesses with complementary strengths, shared ambitions and many shared clients. I am delighted to see the Burson brand brought back to unite them. The new agency will be the standard bearer as the most modern, strategic, technology-driven, full-service communications offer in the industry.” #advertising #merger #communications ------ -[Conferences] MARKETECH APAC's "What' NEXT" conferences will finally make its way next year to Singapore for the first time, and return to the Philippines for a two-day event full of industry discussions on the future of various marketing facets. Learn more how you can be part of it by checking the details here: https://bit.ly/47Yec3z -[Report] Learn how brands can strategically implement conversational commerce and leverage these platforms to craft exceptional and personalized customer experiences in this in-depth report: https://bit.ly/3SSKVCG