Cone Communications (Cone), a public relations and marketing agency specializing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer brand communications, is excited to announce that it will become a Porter Novelli company. This opportunity allows Cone to expand its international reach for its award-winning CSR strategy and thought leadership services by leveraging Porter Novelli’s 90 offices around the globe. It provides Cone with access to a deeper talent of agency resources within the 60 countries Porter Novelli operates. Cone will remain an independent brand within the Porter Novelli network, and continue as a specialty agency within the Omnicom Public Relations Group. Within the new framework, Bill Fleishman will continue in his current position as chief executive officer of Cone, reporting into Brad MacAfee, CEO of Porter Novelli.
“We are continually creating ways to bring the strength and expertise of our agency network to bear for global clients,” said Karen van Bergen, CEO, Omnicom Public Relations Group. “A partnership between Cone Communications and Porter Novelli allows Cone to leverage its specialty capabilities in CSR, cause marketing and consumer activation across a respected global network – resulting in increased reach and value for our clients.”
“For more than 35 years, Cone Communications has been devoted to Always Making a Difference for businesses, brands and society. The agency’s multi-dimensional approach to CSR has helped companies elevate responsible business practices and raise more than $1 billion for important social issues. In addition, we are recognized for exceptional brand and product campaigns for clients,” said Bill Fleishman, CEO, Cone. “We look forward to integrating our subject-matter expertise in CSR and consumer communications as a Porter Novelli company and bringing the value of bench strength around the world to our clients.”
Both agencies were recently recognized as Top Places to Work in PR by PR News and the new alliance seeks to further each organization’s commitment to its talent through enhanced collaboration and further ability to build best-in-class account service teams. Cone and Porter Novelli are currently supporting several clients with integrated teams and specialists including T-Mobile USA, The Almond Board of California and Ortholite.
Brad MacAfee, CEO of Porter Novelli, said, “We are thrilled to welcome the industry CSR leaders to help meet the growing demands of global clients. We are two organizations with a deep heritage in doing good for business and society. We believe that with Cone’s CSR expertise and Porter Novelli’s ability to change behavior through social impact campaigns, we can drive transformational change that brings great value and return for clients.”