Art
Art Stevens

The Stevens Group has formed a strategic partnership with TPC Growth that will focus on CEOs of public relations, digital and influencer marketing, social media and experiential marketing agencies who have sold their firms. The partnership provides these CEOs with consulting services aimed at helping acquired agencies assure continued growth, and maximizing the seller agency's traditional earn out potential. It will work to identify pathways to organic growth at the account and enterprise level for acquired agencies, as well as providing agency-business planning and positioning, plus strategic new business development. “With the TPC Growth offering, we believe TSG can jointly offer a service that not only assures the selection of the most compatible acquirers under the most favorable financial terms, but also help acquired agencies significantly increase their business and EBITDA during the three, four or five-year earn-out that follows,” said The Stevens Group managing partner Art Stevens.

In the Pod

March Communications has launched In the Pod, a podcasting-as-a-service program for B2B and consumer tech brands. In the Pod is designed to let clients create such programming as a short-run miniseries to support a specific campaign or a weekly recurring series that can serve as the idea engine for a company’s content, communications and social media activities. Clients can receive the training needed to produce their own shows or they can rely on March’s team to handle production duties. The agency says that in the U.S. alone, more than 100 million Americans age 12 and over say they listen to podcasts each month, with the numbers especially high for listeners between 25 and 34—a growing demo for tech buyers. “If you’re looking to reach the people who influence and make tech-buying decisions, podcasting is not a tool that you should be leaving on the table,” said March director of content strategy Manny Veiga, who also hosts March’s Hacks and Flacks podcast.

Meg Vesce
Meg Vesce

West Fourth PR has been started up by Meg Vesce, who has led global communications for Marriott brands including Westin Hotels and Le Meridien. While Vesce specializes in public relations, the new firm will also offer such services as marketing, brand strategy, design and social media. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, West Fourth already works with clients such as KOALA, The Ben, Autograph Collection, Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell, Aloft Miami Brickell and Casa Legado Bogota. It also plans to expand its range outside of the hospitality sector to serve clients in wellness, spirits and humanitarian causes.