Marketing and communications holding company Omnicom Group is broadening its global PR offerings with the formation of Omnicom Public Relations Group.
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The new PR group will integrate the capabilities of OMC global subsidiary agencies FleishmanHillard, Ketchum and Porter Novelli, as well as PR agencies CLS Strategies, Cone, gplus, Marina Maher Communications, Mercury, Paul Wilmot Communication and Portland, representing more than 6,000 employees. Agencies within the Omnicom Public Relations Group will remain independent brands and businesses, and will continue operating under Omnicom marketing services division The DAS Group of Companies.
The ad/PR conglom in a statement said it’s reshuffling its PR services structure as a means of fostering cross-agency collaboration, offering customizable teams and addressing changing client needs in a business climate where integration has become the order of the day.
"Omnicom Public Relations Group expands our integrated service offerings with an increased focus on acquisitions and recruiting top talent, in response to changing client needs and new technologies that are transforming our industry,” Omnicom Group president and CEO John Wren said in a statement. “Together and as strong independent brands, this group provides the best of the best in the business — from talent and ideas to innovation and creativity — for the benefit of our employees, clients, shareholders and partners.”
As part of the restructuring, Porter Novelli senior partner and global CEO Karen van Bergen has been appointed CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group, and is charged with leading growth across Omnicom’s newly restructured PR portfolio. van Bergen, who has filled PN's top executive role since 2012, was previously senior partner and managing director of that agency’s New York office. She joined PN from Omnicom unit FleishmanHillard, where she served as senior vice president and senior partner and led Omnicom's multiagency team OneVoice. Previously van Bergen was VP of corporate affairs and chief of staff at McDonald’s Europe Ltd, and was also director of corporate affairs at Coca-Cola Nederland.
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“Omnicom has been a model of successful cross-agency collaboration, and Karen has been a champion for this strategic focus area throughout her nine years at Omnicom agencies,” said The DAS Group of Companies chairman and CEO Dale Adams in a statement. “Omnicom Public Relations Group will build on the success we’ve seen here, and Karen is the right leader to take this forward.”
PN North American president and senior partner Brad MacAfee, meanwhile, has been appointed Porter Novelli CEO, succeeding van Bergen. MacAfee, who has been with Porter Novelli since 2000, held the role of Atlanta managing director prior to being named North American president in 2013. He also served as global technology practice leader and interim head of PN's operations in San Francisco and Chicago.
van Bergen in a statement said MacAfee's “leadership as president of Porter Novelli’s largest region has made an enormous positive impact,” and that his "unwavering focus on talent, ability to provide smart, strategic counsel to our clients and gift for bringing forward innovative solutions to client needs will be instrumental in his success.”
The news comes after OMC in February reported declining fourth quarter PR revenues of about $340 million, representing a 7.7 percent dip in PR performance for that period — and a 2.3 percent decline for the year — amid an overall 1.2 percent annual revenue decline to $15.1 billion at the conglomerate.
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