NEW YORK: Finn Partners has acquired Washington, D.C.-based brand strategy and creative services firm Greenfield Belser.
The two agencies have been in talks since last fall. Greenfield Belser’s services include brand strategy, design, creative, and digital marketing, and it specializes in working with professional services organizations such as law firms, accounting firms, and professional associations.
"The whole digital and creative sector is important to the PR sector, and expanding our creative digital services was an important reason for [the acquisition]," said Peter Finn, CEO and founding partner of Finn Partners. "With Greenfield Belser joining us, we’ll have about 70 people in [digital creative]."
Greenfield Belser’s Washington, D.C. headquarters will merge with Finn Partners’ office in the nation’s capital, which will bring its staff there to 85 employees. The new additions will report to Noah Finn, head of digital and creative services at Finn Partners. The acquisition will bring the combined total fees for Finn Partners’ D.C. office to more than $15 million. Other financial terms were not disclosed.
There will be no layoffs or staff changes due to the acquisition. Burkey Belser, cofounder of Greenfield Belser, will become managing partner of the Greenfield Belser division of Finn Partners’ digital and creative practice.
Finn Partners achieved nearly $72 million in global revenue in 2015, including nearly $67 million in the U.S. It had 12 offices around the world and eight in the U.S. as of the end of last year.
Last October, European technology PR firm Johnson King merged into Finn Partners, a month after Finn Partners acquired Horn Group in the U.S.
Finn added that his agency will gain expertise in digital and creative from the deal, growing the agency’s strength in the b-to-b sector.
Belser said Finn Partners will provide more opportunities and a global presence to his staffers.
"We’re looking at a time of integration of all kinds of marketing and PR services," said Belser. "This a natural result of what's going on in the marketplace already: to combine PR, digital, and print. Now we can handle it all for the clients."
