NEW YORK: Eight prominent midsize firms across the US have united to form a new network, called Converge.
Members include Carmichael Lynch Spong in Minneapolis, M Booth & Associates in New York, 360 PR in Boston, Duffey Communications in Atlanta, rbb PR in Miami, The Rogers Group in LA, Stanton Communications in DC, and Vollmer in Texas.
Member firms will work together on specific campaigns for common clients in different markets. Some collaboration has already taken place, including rbb and Duffey teaming up on Starbucks, and CLS and rbb combining for Hispanic marketing for Clorox.
M Booth president Margaret Booth said this will help the firms to serve clients better across markets and to share best practices.
Members may also combine for pitches on various accounts.
CLS president Doug Spong said that although his firm is owned by the Interpublic Group, he has the discretion to team with non-IPG agencies in Converge.
"We leverage the IPG network, particularly overseas," he said. "But we're not bound by that."
Spong said all the firms will bill at retail rates on shared clients; none will be asked to give discounts.
