ITV

Tag: Cohn & Wolfe

  • WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe acquires majority stake in Brazil’s Grupo Maquina

    WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe acquires majority stake in Brazil’s Grupo Maquina

    MUMBAI: After acquiring a majority stake in India’s Six Degrees PR and Alphabet Consulting in September last year, WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe has made its second recent acquisition. The agency has now acquired a majority stake in Brazil’s public relations agency Grupo Maquina.

     

    Maquina Cohn & Wolfe, with 240 employees across offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, has the combined talent and experience to meet demand for global integrated marketing services from Brazilian companies and multinational companies alike. 

     

    Maquina was founded in 1995 by Maristela Mafei. Today, Maquina is known for its digital and integrated communications work across numerous industries, including finance, education, consumer technology, retail, entertainment, government and tourism. The agency has specialty divisions focused on digital, video content, branding, advertising and package design services.

     

    “Latin America has become a very important region for our clients and Brazil is a critical market for Cohn & Wolfe. After working with many good agencies, we were most impressed with Maquina’s excellence in digital and integrated marketing. They have an impressive client base and an equally impressive leadership team. We share values, including creativity, entrepreneurship and focus on client service, which will ensure a strong and long-lasting partnership and joint success,” says Cohn & Wolfe CEO Donna Imperato.

     

    Mafei will remain director-general of Maquina Cohn & Wolfe, reporting to Imperato. Marcelo Diego and Daniella Camargos will continue in their roles as co-CEOs, reporting to Mafei. They will keep their positions as partners with Maquina Cohn & Wolfe.

     

    The agency’s roster of both public and private sector clients includes Credit Suisse, EY, Zara, Xerox, Carrefour, L’Oréal, Nextel, MetLife, Bridgestone, GP Investments, Embratur, BRMalls, Qualicorp, Hypermarcas, Raízen, BRF, Grupo Estacio, Insper and Gafisa.

     

    “We recently celebrated our 20th anniversary and I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishments of our remarkable teams and the work they have done for our trusted clients,” says Mafei. “What I envision for our next 20 years can be achieved by becoming part of the Cohn & Wolfe family. This partnership will bring unmatched strengths globally that will benefit our current multinational clients and attract many more here and throughout Latin America. We will continue to provide the best of our culture, but will now be associated with one of the largest agencies in the world.”

  • Cohn & Wolfe expands India ops; buys majority stake in Six Degrees PR

    Cohn & Wolfe expands India ops; buys majority stake in Six Degrees PR

    MUMBAI: WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe is looking at expanding its India operations and has agreed to acquire a majority stake in full-service public relations agency Six Degrees PR and its content and integrated marketing subsidiary Alphabet Consulting, with offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. 

    With this, Cohn & Wolfe’s existing business will become part of Cohn & Wolfe Six Degrees. 

    Six Degress PR co-founders Rishi Seth and Zacharia James will become Group CEOs, leading the Cohn & Wolfe Six Degrees team of 70 professionals across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The duo will report to Cohn & Wolfe CEO Donna Imperato. 

    Additionally, Six Degrees CEO Karan Punia will become CEO of the new company, reporting to Seth and James.

    Part of an aggressive growth plan in the region, the deal builds on Cohn & Wolfe’s Mumbai and Delhi offering and solidifies the agency’s Asia-Pacific presence by growing its footprint in the region to 11 offices.

    Founded in 2009, Six Degrees is known for its consulting approach, counseling C-Suite clients on challenges across the communications spectrum. Six Degrees has extensive public relations, public affairs, crisis management and digital media experience and delivers content and integrated marketing campaigns through subsidiary Alphabet Consulting. 

    “India is a strategic priority for Cohn & Wolfe, and Six Degrees has the entrepreneurial culture, seasoned talent and drive to succeed that will help us capitalize on the tremendous opportunity for growth here. The agency’s presence in Bangalore, the country’s technology hub, and their work in technology, finance and corporate complements the Cohn & Wolfe India team’s extensive lifestyle and consumer experience,” said Imperato. 

    “We believe that Cohn & Wolfe is the best partner for the culture, passion and energy of Six Degrees and Alphabet Consulting. We are excited to start this new journey to make a bigger play for growth through integrated marketing services,” added Seth.

    “Our measure of success is having built a reputation for being amongst the most respected PR firms in India. Alignment to a global agency with a strong people orientation and methodologies is the next logical step in our journey. We believe Cohn & Wolfe will provide us the required impetus to build on our success, stay relevant to our people’s aspirations and become a global partner to our clients with a full service offering,” said James.

    Cohn & Wolfe, which opened offices in Delhi and Mumbai in 2012, represents clients across a range of industries and is particularly known for its leading travel and tourism practice. Cohn & Wolfe India doubled revenues in 2014 with key clients including Austrian Airlines, Cleartrip, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, RCI, Ruckus Wireless, Swiss International Air Lines and Wyndham Hotel Group.

    Six Degrees’ current clients include companies such as Amadeus, Cushman & Wakefield, Dalmia Bharat Group, Hughes, Ingersoll Rand and Nokia.

  • WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe appoints new corporate practice leadership

    WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe appoints new corporate practice leadership

    MUMBAI: WPP’s brand communications agency Cohn & Wolfe has appointed Andrew Escott, formerly managing director of UK Corporate, as global corporate practice leader effective immediately.

     

    Escott takes over from Geoff Beattie, who last week was named global leader of Cohn & Wolfe’s new Strategic Consulting Unit.

     

    Helen Searle, formerly UK Corporate director, steps up to become managing director of UK Corporate.

     

    The Corporate Practice operates across Cohn & Wolfe offices worldwide, covering all aspects of Reputation Management including Crisis and Issues Management, Business-to-Business Communications, CSR & Sustainability, Employee Engagement, Public Affairs and Corporate Storytelling. 

     

    “Demand for our corporate reputation work has grown significantly around the world and Andrew has been a major contributor to our success. Under Andrew’s leadership, I see our Corporate Practice continuing to be a significant driver across Cohn & Wolfe markets,” said Cohn & Wolfe CEO Donna Imperato.

     

    The UK has been among the agency’s stand-out markets for corporate work. Over the past four years, the UK Corporate Practice doubled revenues, expanded its suite of services and added major global brands in the natural resources, financial services, healthcare and food and drink industries. Current clients include Warburtons, Twinings, Ferrero, Asia Pulp & Paper and Lloyds Banking Group. 

     

    Escott said, “The global business environment has never been tougher so our clients need a partner that can seamlessly both protect and promote their business. That’s what we have built in London and it has been a successful and differentiated model driven by a hugely talented team. Helen is a great leader, a critical part of our recent success and I have no doubt she will take the business even further.”

     

    Escott joined Cohn & Wolfe in 2009 to drive the UK office’s crisis management and corporate health capabilities. In 2010, he founded Cohn & Wolfe Political Counsel, the agency’s first public affairs service. Since then he has worked across service areas to create a fully integrated Corporate Practice able to advise clients on all aspects of reputation management. While managing director of the UK Corporate Practice, Escott’s client work included Danone, Warburtons and Asia Pulp & Paper.

     

    Searle joined Cohn & Wolfe in 2012 as a corporate director and now leads integrated corporate brand campaigns for clients such as Lloyds Banking Group, Danone and Make. Searle brings more than a dozen years’ experience at agencies such as Blue Rubicon and Weber Shandwick, where she delivered award-winning campaigns for Aviva, O2, RBS and Visa. Searle is a specialist in devising creative corporate campaigns that embrace both B2B and B2C audiences.

  • Cohn & Wolfe India bags PR duties for Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschat

    Cohn & Wolfe India bags PR duties for Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschat

    MUMBAI: Cohn & Wolfe, a leading global communications agency,has announced that it has been awarded the mandate to manage the PR for DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA AKTIENGESELLSCHAT in India for a period of three years.Cohn & Wolfe was selected out of multiple agencies in India following an intense pitch process, with three rounds over five months.

     

    Mr. Wolfgang Will, Director, South – Asia, Lufthansa German Airlines stated, “It was a tough decision as many agencies had made nice proposals but Cohn & Wolfe brought with them unique insights based on deep research which mapped onto how we had been communicating in India. They offered unique and creative brand communication ideas which made us choose them as our communication partners in India.”

     

    “We are very delighted to be given this responsibility and are excited to be a part of the Lufthansa German Airlines communication outreach in India. Our mantra is to “Dig Deeper. Imagine More.” We Dig Deeper into the research to find connections other people may have missed or ignored. And we Imagine More ways to turn those insights into creative campaigns that matter. Or, as we call it, purpose-driven creativity,” said Rafi Q. Khan, CEO, Cohn & Wolfe, India.

     

    Cohn & Wolfe started its India operations over a year ago with offices in Delhi and Mumbai, and a strong partner network across 32 cities in India. Currently,Cohn & Wolfe India offers comprehensive services in Communication Design & Execution, Media Relations, Social Media, Issue & Crisis Management, Content Creation and Evaluation & Measurement across Consumer, Corporate, Travel & Tourism, Automotive, Food & Beverage, Retail, Healthcare & Wellness, Energy, Sports, Technology and Entertainment sectors.

  • Cohn & Wolfe welcomes Doug Buemi as Asia Pacific, Regional Director

    Cohn & Wolfe welcomes Doug Buemi as Asia Pacific, Regional Director

    MUMBAI: Cohn & Wolfe, a leading global communications agency, today announced the appointment of Doug Buemi as Vice Chairman, Regional Director, Asia Pacific.  Buemi is a Cohn & Wolfe alumnus who established the agency’s presence in China in 2006 with the opening of its Shanghai office.  He also held several other leadership positions at Cohn & Wolfe including Vice Chairman, Los Angeles market leader and Western Region CEO.

     

    In this newly created global leadership position, Buemi will have management oversight of the Asia-Pacific region, working closely with regional market leaders to help grow the agency’s business, build capabilities and develop talent.  Doug will also advise on global strategy and partner with Donna Imperato, Cohn & Wolfe CEO, to expand the agency’s presence in the region.

     

    Buemi joins Cohn & Wolfe from Ogilvy Public Relations, where he was Regional Executive Advisor, Asia Pacific.  At Ogilvy he continued his long-time leadership role in Ford’s Asia Pacific region and provided counsel and training for a range of top companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Cilag, Tesco Lotus and DuPont.  His responsibilities also included new business development and worldwide employee training, coaching and mentoring initiatives.  Buemi served as interim Chairman for the agency’s India and Thailand offices, and handled special initiatives in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.  Prior to Ogilvy, Buemi worked at Burson Marsteller, where he was executive vice president, a member of the worldwide board and Western Region Operations Manager.  He also owned and operated his own marketing communications firm for many years.

     

    “I couldn’t be happier to welcome Doug back.  He is a proven leader who understands the Cohn & Wolfe culture, and who brings deep brand marketing expertise and decades of experience counseling clients on complex business challenges,” said Imperato.  “Doug also recognizes what it takes to be successful in the Asia Pacific region, having established numerous winning ventures there for Cohn & Wolfe and other companies.”

     

    “It’s really great to be back helping Cohn & Wolfe continue its remarkable growth in Asia Pacific and expand its offerings elsewhere,” said Buemi.  “I’m delighted to be working with Donna, the Cohn & Wolfe account teams and clients to capture even more success in the world’s fastest growing markets.”