The Bohle Company, one of the nation's largest high-tech PR firms, has just brought into its fold PR veteran Bob Gold, who was just six months into operating his own firm specializing in the cable and TV industry. The deal underscores the rapid move toward mergers and acquisitions taking place on the highly competitive high-tech PR frontier.
Sue Bohle, president and CEO of the Los Angeles-based firm bearing her name, told PR NEWS that she and Gold inked the deal on Jan. 14, at which time Gold was named VP of the company. Gold had started Bob Gold & Associates in the summer of 1996; one of his largest clients was Cox Communications' new regional network in San Diego.
With the merger, Bohle's client base jumps 30 percent, to 16 clients, and its staff increases from 32 to 36, including three at Bohle's satellite office in San Francisco. The company projects revenues this year of about $3.5 million - nearly $400,000 of that tied to Gold's Rolling Hills, Calif.-based business.
"I had been looking for another experienced senior person to bring into the firm and this adds a whole new capability to this company," said Bohle. "I don't think any of the large PR firms can compete with us on the technology front."
The Bohle Company, which provides specialized PR counsel for technology companies, is viewing the partnership as a way to expand into the cable and TV industries.
Through Gold, Bohle gains five new prestigious clients, including Cox Cable, the fourth largest U.S.-based cable system, San Diego; TV digital compression technology company Imedia Corp., San Francisco; cable modem provider Internet Ventures, Los Angeles; CD, cassette and video music catalog house Rhino, Los Angeles; and advertising agency SHR Perceptual Management Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz.
Existing Bohle clients include publisher of multi-platform games Ocean of America, San Jose, Calif.; 3-D technology developer Synthonics Technologies Inc., Westlake Village, Calif.; multimedia production studio Powerhouse Entertainment, Dallas; and 3D audio enhancement developer QSound Labs Inc., Calgary and Alberta, Canada.
Bohle said she agreed, through a compensation contract, to "absorb Gold's assets and revenues." In essence, Bohle will pay Gold's salary and the salaries and benefits for his transitioned employees.
A Merging Climate
The Bohle/Gold merger is just one of several recent partnerships in the high-tech arena. At the close of last year, another high-tech leader, McCann-Erickson Worldwide acquired The Weber Group, a high-tech marcom firm headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. (See PR NEWS, Dec. 16, 1996) McCann-Erickson did some heavy-handed courting to lure The Weber Group, which will oversee a worldwide PR sector for McCann-Erickson.
It's no secret that providing high-tech public relations is one of the leading - if not the top - corridors for growth in the PR industry. But it's also proving to be an area where the demand is outstripping the supply.
Industry experts say that's because many in the PR trade have been fairly slow in embracing new technologies, including the Internet. Take, for instance, the following finding released by The Dilenschneider Group, New York, which surveyed 540 communication professionals: Fifty-four percent of those who responded said they never recommend an online presence to a client; do not have Web sites themselves; and have no plans to create one.
"PR is more of a critical success factor than ever before and much of that has to do with the Internet, which is driving emerging segments," said Pam Alexander, founder and president of San Francisco-based Alexander Communications, a PR technology firm with $8 million in revenue. Alexander's clients include Discovery Channel Online, Bethesda; Jones Digital Century, Denver; and First Virtual Holdings, San Diego.
"There are more opportunities than ever before in the technology sector. But in the technology market, expertise and contacts are critical since this is a word-of-mouth market," Alexander added. "And this can be a barrier for both start-up agencies and corporations."
But Bohle says her company isn't having trouble attracting clients, partly because it has invested heavily in in-house technology and training so it can communicate effectively with its clients.
For instance, Bohle requires that each of her employees has three hours of on-the-job-training each week - an hour on computers and two hours on PR and management skills.
The company also:
- Invested about $45,000, at a rate of about $1,400 per person, on computer hardware and software;
- Created a Web site (http://www.bohle.com) with content originated by staff members and the design developed in-house (only $18,000 was billed out);
- Is building an intranet to allow its employees in the San Francisco office and executives calling in via portable computers to access data on its file server directly; and
- Funds a home office for each PR staffer working on client accounts --earmarking about $2,000 for a printer, laptop or PC with modem capabilities, a fax machine and a cellular phone.
(The Bohle Company, Sue Bohle, Bob Gold, 310/785-0515; The Dilenschneider Group, 212/922-0900; Alexander Communications, Pam Alexander, 415/923-1660)