The stand-alone PMK brand is making a return. Seven and a half years after Michael Nyman departed then-PMK*BNC to launch Acceleration Community of Companies, his new firm is bringing in most of the staff of PMK*BNC successor R&CPMK, part of Interpublic Group, along with the majority of their clients.
Of the 77 former R&CPMK employees, 35 will be part of PMK Entertainment, a new company within ACC focused on talent, music, sports, content companies, corporate entertainment and crisis communications.
PMK Entertainment will be led by former R&CPMK CEO Cindi Berger, who will serve as CEO, reporting to ACC founder and CEO Nyman. This marks a reunion of the duo who both served as co-chairmen and CEOs of PMK*BNC before Nyman’s 2018 exit. R&CPMK Chairman of Entertainment Alan Nierob will be PMK Entertainment President.
“This is a full-circle moment that reflects the power of our model,” Nyman said. “I — and most of ACC’s executive leadership — came from PMK*BNC, and we are incredibly proud of what we accomplished together. As we integrate these talented professionals into ACC, we’ll leverage their entertainment and brand experience and evolve it into a strategic growth engine that approaches the talent business with a full-funnel discipline.”
IPG, the holding company that owned R&CPMK, has been going through major reorganizations and cuts, eliminating 3,200 jobs this year ahead of its imminent acquisition by Omnicom. IPG told Deadline last month that R&CPMK would operate through November 16 in its previous form.
R&CPMK personnel and clients will now be based across three of ACC’s network of specialized marketing and communications agencies: PMK Entertainment, ACC Advisory and DKC.
PMK Entertainment has a client roster that includes Antoine Fuqua, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Crystal, Billie Jean King, Casey Wasserman, CJ Entertainment, Denzel Washington, Donnie Yen, Eddie Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Jeff Daniels, Jeremy Renner, Jerry Bruckheimer, Judith Light, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Richard Gere, Rob Lowe, Sam Levinson, the Grammy Awards, Tribeca Festival, the Paley Center, The Rooftop at Pier 17, Edge and Vessel at Hudson Yards, Angel Studios, The X Games and Colossal Biosciences.
It will work alongside ACC’s recently launched Ingenuity Group, a talent and entertainment brand consultancy led by fellow PR veteran Ina Treciokas.
Twenty former R&CPMK employees from the brand side will become part of Advisory, ACC’s in-house marketing consultancy, with another 22 will join DKC, a b2b and b2c communications firm specializing in building brands.
Brand clients represented by the incoming teams across Advisory and DKC include Audemars Piguet, Gibson, Heineken, LA Union Station, PlayStation and Royal Caribbean.
Two brands represented by R&CPMK that had been shared with another IPG agency and are staying behind include McDonald’s and Mastercard. The staff transition to ACC of R&CPMK, which has had as many as 300 employees in previous iterations, was done with the support of IPG.
“I’m proud to be reuniting with Michael Nyman and ACC for our next chapter,” Berger said. “ACC’s innovative model empowers our team to do what we do best in an agile and collaborative environment, while positioning our clients prominently at the center of the cultural zeitgeist. With PMK Entertainment, we are giving a nod to our shared legacy while taking a future-forward approach to entertainment and marketing.”
With the new infusion, ACC’s headcount has grown to over 620 people working across 12 offices in the U.S., the UK and the Philippines. The R&CPMK alums will be working out of offices in New York and Los Angeles.
“When Rogers & Cowan launched, they were the first company to house entertainment and corporate clients,” Nierob said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the next generation of brand marketing, public relations and entertainment. It’s an exciting opportunity for both our clients and our entire staff.”
