PR goliath Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) is scaling up its business once again, adding independent digital agency Hirshorn Zuckerman (HZ) to its M&A roster.
The agency, which has a client base spanning the consumer, healthcare and technology industries to name a few, offers a range of services including multichannel digital design and development, social media, and data and analytics.
It has a workforce of nearly 200 creative and digital professionals, and after the acquisition, it will operate across all of the industry sectors that BCW currently serves.
As per terms of the deal, HZ – which was founded in 1987 and has offices in multiple US states – will keep its brand.
However, the company will undergo some slight changes. HZ’s chief executive Jerry Zuckerman will transition into the role of chief operating officer after heading the agency for 30 years.
Meanwhile, founder and chief creative officer Karen Zuckerman will retain her title and said: “We’ve spent the last three decades conceiving and evolving brands with award-winning creative, agile marketing strategies and cutting-edge digital activations. We couldn’t be more thrilled to unite with BCW and to work together to expand our collective abilities on a global stage.”
Zuckerman will report to Burson Cohn & Wolfe’s chief executive Donna Imperato, who said: “With the acquisition of a top creative agency in the US, BCW has taken a major step toward becoming a global leader in integrated communications.”
“Bringing additional creative firepower to our team strengthens our ability to deliver digitally driven integrated programs grounded in earned engagement and expanded across all channels at scale. This is what makes BCW such a powerful partner to our clients.”
Since the megamerger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe, BCW became the third largest PR firm in the world.
Last year, the company saw a 4% revenue growth to an estimated $691m.