SAN FRANCISCO: Allison+Partners has acquired C. Moore Media International PR.
As part of the deal, which took place in July, CMM founder Claudine Moore was named managing director of Africa at Allison. She is reporting to Matthew Della Croce, global president and chief client experience officer.
Although Allison does not have a physical presence in Africa, CEO Scott Allison said such a move is “on the horizon.” Moore will work to expand Allison’s capabilities in African markets and oversee the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for clients.
“As we expand our global footprint, it’s really important to add senior executives that understand these markets,” Allison said.
Founded in 2010, CMM specializes primarily in the U.S., U.K. and African markets, but over the past five years, the New York-based firm has become increasingly involved in the African technology space.
“As the African business landscape and tech ecosystem grows, so has the demand for robust, sophisticated and data-driven PR,” said Moore. “As a small agency, there’s only so much of that we could do.”
CMM clients will benefit from Allison’s broader global footprint, including Europe, Asia and the Americas, as well as the Stagwell agency’s resources in creative, digital, influencer marketing, thought leadership and market analytics.
There are no layoffs expected as a result of the acquisition, but CMM will not retain its name. CMM has a collection of consultants that it pulls from, depending on the account it is working with. CMM has consultants in Lagos, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana.
Financial details were not disclosed. Allison described the move as more of an “acqui-hire” than a transactional deal.
In 2020, Moore launched the Future is Female Mentorship Program, billed as the only PR and communications initiative exclusively dedicated to African female tech founders. With support from Allison, Moore will continue to run and scale the program.
Allison+Partners posted an 18.8% gain in revenue globally last year to $81.2 million and a 19.6% increase in the U.S. to $65.9 million, according to PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2022.
The firm recently promoted Karyn Barr to president of global operations and Jordan Fischler to president of global strategy, both within the agency’s technology practice.
This story was updated on August 26 to clarify Moore's job responsibilities.