MarketInk: Advertising Agency The Shipyard to Acquire Midwest PR Firm Fahlgren Mortine

The Shipyard, a Columbus, Ohio-based advertising agency with offices in San Diego, Newport Beach and Sacramento, has announced it will acquire Fahlgren Mortine, a public relations firm also headquartered in Columbus.

The acquisition is expected to close at the end of April, a Shipyard spokesperson told Times of San Diego. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The combined company will have nearly 400 professionals with industry expertise in tourism, economic development, financial services, consumer products, energy, retail, building products, logistics, technology and healthcare.

Fahlgren Mortine will retain its brand, and its leadership will remain in place, including CEO Neil Mortine and Marty McDonald, who was named president in 2022. A statement also said Mortine will be named vice chairman for The Shipyard. In addition, Christine Turner will continue as president of Turner, a travel, tourism and active lifestyle shop that FM acquired in 2014. Turner operates offices in New York City, Denver and Chicago.

According to a statement, Mortine said, “From the complementary nature of our services to the timing of this partnership, we are certain this is the right next move for Fahlgren Mortine. With a shared love for our community, bold national vision, and a commitment to keeping our people at the center of our work, we know the future is bright.”

The PR firm, currently owned by Eastport Holdings, a leading communications network, has been ranked as No. 19 in a list of top PR firms in the nation by O’Dwyer’s PR News, an industry trade publication. O’Dwyer’s said FM’s 2023 fee income was $39.2 million.

The firm, named Mid-Sized Agency of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America, has worked for Smucker’s, Bob Evans Restaurants, Kroger, Ohio Lottery, Avery Dennison, Visit Myrtle Beach, Cardinal Health, University of Buffalo, Travel Nevada and DHL.

“Brand success comes from orchestrating creative across all paid, owned, earned and emerging media,” said Rick Milenthal, The Shipyard founder and CEO. “Fahlgren Mortine is recognized as a leader in the industry. We are aligned with shared values, combined resources and a galvanizing mission of ‘Engineering Brand Love’ wherever audiences consume media.”

The Shipyard, cited by advertising industry magazine AdWeek as one of the fastest-growing independent advertising agencies in 2023, has reported 150% growth in the past four years.

During the past year, it has been named the agency-of-record for several new clients, including Prestige Consumer Healthcare with 22 consumer brands, San Diego Zoo, American Freight, San Francisco Ballet and Snowbird, a Utah ski resort.

Also in August 2023, Alaris Equity Partners Income Trust, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, invested $59.5 million into The Shipyard, with a commitment to fund an additional $5.5 million if the agency achieves certain financial hurdles, according to an announcement.

The Shipyard opened its San Diego office in December 2020 with the acquisition of Mering, a San Diego-based advertising agency that had operated since 1985.

Intesa Hires a ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ Military Spouse

Intesa Communications Group, a San Diego-based strategic communications and government relations firm, has partnered with the Hiring Our Heroes’ Military Spouse Fellowship Program and announced the hiring of Jordan Vesey as an account coordinator and the firm’s first military spouse fellow.

An Intesa statement said military spouses often suffer from high rates of unemployment due to their service member’s military service. Hiring our Heroes matches fellowship candidates with participating companies based on their skills and preferences to provide them with networking, professional development and hands-on experience.

Vesey has a decade of experience in broadcast news and documentary development, including six years with the PBS Newshour. She is the recipient of a National Educational Telecommunications Award for best instructional media for the PBS series “Level Up” and an Environmental Media Award for best documentary series called “Activate.”

She also has worked on multi-part documentaries that have aired on PBS, Discovery, National Geographic and Oxygen. Vesey, who is fluent in Spanish, graduated from MacalesterCollege in St. Paul, Minn.

“We’re delighted with the opportunity to bolster support for military spouses in San Diego in a way that also directly benefits our clients,” said Intesa founding partner Margie Newman Tsay. “Partnering with the Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Fellowship Program allows us to show Jordan the ins-and-outs of the communications industry while leveraging her exceptional skills and experience, all without any cost to our small business. It’s highly rewarding for our team, our clients and military spouses seeking on-the-job training and resources.”

Crowe PR and Movetic Formalize Strategic Alliance

Crowe PR, a San Diego-based integrated public relations agency, has announced a strategic alliance with Movetic, a San Diego marketing consultancy.

The two firms have worked together on consumer goods brands for the past six years. Formalizing the relationship will better serve food and beverage, wellness and apparel brands with a more robust creative services offering, a statement said.

“The formalized alliance will further optimize the teams’ collaborative work, starting with branding and content development through strategic communications plans, message elevation, media relations, influencer marketing and social offerings,” a statement said.

“Crowe PR’s partnership with Movetic has been years in the making, starting in the spirits industry and growing into wellness and food-focused brands,” said Anna Crowe, founder and CEO of Crowe PR. “This alliance is truly built on shared values and a commitment to excellence. Together, we will continue our work to provide exceptional, ROI-driven services to our clients in the ever-evolving landscapes of our industries.” 

Movetic’s services include brand positioning, integrated product launch campaigns, website development and social media and online communications strategies. Crowe PR’s services include media relations, thought leadership, crisis communication, social media management, influencer marketing and content creation.

“Since the day I met the Crowe PR team, it was clear to me that we shared similar business values — do well by others, create great work for our partners and, most importantly, think differently with storytelling, creativity and results at the core of our businesses,” said Josh Roush, CEO of Movetic. “

Sports Fans Listen More — 6.5 Hours of Audio Daily

The average American sports fan listens to an average of six hours and 26 minutes of audio content daily, which is two hours more than other American audio consumers, according to findings from a recent survey by Sirius XM Media, GroupM and Edison Research.

An online survey of 3,500 Americans who identify as sports fans were asked about their listening habits to radio sports programming, podcasts and satellite offerings, as reported by Inside Radio, an industry trade publication.

Unsurprisingly, a fan’s favorite audio source largely depends on their age: Sports radio is tops for Gen X and baby boomers, while Gen Z and millennials gravitate toward podcasts.

“There is a deep connection between listeners and the audio content they consume, whether it’s music, sports, talk shows, books or podcasts,” said Jen Soch, executive director, GroupM, as quoted by Inside Radio. “Many times, audio audiences find content related to their interests and passions, and we know sports fans’ zeal is unmatched. Audio is a critical component of holistic media investments, and it needs to be a top consideration for brands looking to extend their reach and overall presence in sports.”

Among other findings from the survey:

• 89% of sports fans say they frequently or occasionally watch sports content.
• 52% listen to be a more informed sports bettor, and 44 percent a more informed fantasy sports player.
• Two in three like hearing or seeing their favorite athletes in advertisements. That number is higher among those who consume sports content via podcasts (81%) or SiriusXM (76%).
• 46% would be more likely to buy a product or service if it were advertised by a favorite athlete. That number rises to 68% for podcast listeners and 64% for SiriusXM listeners.
• Sports audio listeners spend an average of $262 on sports merchandise or memorabilia annually (even higher for sports podcast listeners at $321), compared to $185 for sports video viewers.   

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.