Bridging the Gap:PR firms and brands make acquisitions all the time. The question then becomes how to integrate the corporate culture of the acquisition with that of the acquiring company. In mid July Finn Partners acquired Greenfield Belser, Ltd., a brand strategy and creative services firm based in DC. We asked Peter Finn, founding partner of Finn Partners, how his firm does it. “First, if an acquisition doesn’t make sense from a culture standpoint we walk away…we’ve walked away from more than a few.” Another element is the 8 founding partners, so the task of integrating an acquisition never falls on one person’s shoulders. And then there’s
Finn’s retreat center in upstate NY that the firm uses to not only inculcate new personnel but to “build relationships across various practices,” Finn says. “We spend time on team-building exercises up there,” he adds.
Who’s Using What? It’s usually our practice at PR News to survey those who will be attending our events. It gives us and our speakers a better idea how to structure our remarks. As such we surveyed attendees of our Big 4 Social Media Summit in San Francisco, Aug 9-10. One of the most interesting bits of data came from a question that asked “What platforms does your business actively engage on? (check all that apply)” Facebook topped the list at 98%, followed by Twitter (94%), Instagram (79%), YouTube (77%), LinkedIn (68%), Snapchat (29%) and Facebook Live (26%). Respondents were a mix of communicators from brands, agencies and nonprofits.
People: Fortune 100 energy firm Excelon named Maggie FitzPatrick SVP, corporate affairs, philanthropy and customer engagement. She begins Aug 29 at the country’s largest utility. She’ll be based in DC, where Exelon recently acquired energy company Pepco in a bitterly contested battle. FitzPatrick recently served as global CCO and VP of public affairs at Johnson & Johnson. – In yet another leadership announcement, Ketchum named Mark Hume COO for Europe. He’ll join Ketchum chairman/CEO Rob Flaherty to oversee the company’s European operations. Hume continues as CFO, a position he’s occupied since 2009, when he worked with then-CEO Europe David Gallagher. On Aug 2 Gallagher was named president, growth and development, international, Omnicom Public Relations Group. In late July Ketchum named Barri Rafferty worldwide president ( PRN, July 25). Hume joined Ketchum in 1996; Gallagher joined in 1994. – Omnicom’s Mercury named
Democrat strategist Ashley Walkerits first female president. Prior to her 3-year tenure at Mercury, Walker directed President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign in FL.– Shonda Rhimes named Kristen Andersen VP, marketing and communications of her television production company Shondaland. In the newly created position Ms. Andersen also will oversee talent relations and philanthropic initiatives. Previously she’d been a director of publicity at ABC Television Network and AMC Networks, where she worked on campaigns for Mad Men and Breaking Bad, among others. – Makovsky named Douglas HesneyEVP and leader of its financial and professional services practice. Most recently he led the asset management practice at Dukas Linden Public Relations. – Healthcare firm Amendola Communications welcomed back founding employee Kate Donlon as VP. In addition to her work at Amendola, Donlon has held positions at Intel and the Mayo Clinic, among others. – Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected to her fourth and final one-year term as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She ran unopposed. Boone Isaacs is beginning her 24th year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch. In January she was in the
middle of the #allwhiteoscars controversy when the twittersphere and Hollywood exploded due to the absence of African-American actors nominated for Oscars in the Best Actor and Actress categories. -- Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts acted quickly to apologize for remarks he made suggesting the ad industry’s diversity debate is over; still he was forced to resign. He’ll leave Sept 1. He was due to retire in May 2017. “‘Fail fast, fix fast, learn fast’ is a leadership maxim I advocate,” he said in a statement apologizing for his comments. -- M&C Saatchi PRpromoted Jen Dobrzelecki to EVP. She joined in 2015 as SVP and will be responsible for business development, client relationships, global integration and operations in the U.S. market.---Cerrell Associates named Alan Caldwell VP of media relations & crisis communication and first chief diversity strategist. He’d been communications manager for Shell Oil Company in southern CA. -- Mónica Talán will step down as Univision’s EVP, corporate communications and PR to join PreK12 Plaza, a startup. Rosemary Mercedes, SVP of corporate communications ( PRN, Sept 28, 2015), will step into Talán’s role until a replacement is found.