Principals Buy Back Brodeur Partners, Focus Company on Relevance Communications Platform

BOSTON, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Gearing up for the next communications wave, Brodeur Partners today announced new ownership, strategy, practices and leaders.

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Andy Coville and John Brodeur, principals of Brodeur Partners for 25 years, have bought back a majority stake from Omnicom Group which acquired the strategic public relations agency in 1993. Omnicom continues to hold an equity position in the company, which offers communications, behavioral change, digital and strategic services.

"The return to entrepreneurial roots with Omnicom's support and equity is the best of both worlds for us," said Andy Coville, CEO of Brodeur Partners. "While we invest in new talent and strategies to drive growth and client innovation, we have Omnicom's involvement and endorsement as we go forward."

Brodeur Partners has restructured the company around the new century's most urgent communications imperative, relevance.

"The world is unsettled by economic, global and media upheaval and people desperately need to connect," said Coville. "But they want to connect to things that matter most -- that are truly relevant to them -- whether a product, service, brand, cause or idea."

"The next wave in communications goes beyond changing minds," says Coville. "It's all about changing behavior," she adds, "while leveraging a full array of traditional and new media tools to create interaction, community, conversations and most important, measurable action."

Examples of behavior change include buying, raising money, joining a cause and adopting a healthy habit.

New practice areas and people

Complementing the relevance focus, Brodeur has reorganized around four business areas, each led by pioneers in their field:

• Brodeur Communications, offering integrated branding, marketing, public relations, communications and social media services. Led by core teams of Brodeur Partners and its subsidiary Beaupre, a leading communications firm jointly operating a clean technology practice with Brodeur.

• Brodeur ShiftPositive, dedicated to creating innovative social change programs that advance healthy living, environmental stewardship and other social causes.  The group is led by EVP Rob Gould, the new director of the Washington, DC office, EVP David Zucker, the new director of the New York office and senior advisor Robyn Castellani, all award-winning leaders in the social change field.

• Brodeur Digital, harnessing social media and other online tools to power relevant communications. The group is led by Joe Trippi, one of America's leading and most influential political strategists known for his pioneering work in digital and social media.

• Brodeur Strategies, providing C-level counsel to transform an organization's customer experience. This group, led by seasoned executives from Brodeur and its strategic partners, is steeped in brand planning, research, customer segmentation and internal alignment.

"While we're excited about the new talent joining Brodeur Partners, our senior team will provide the continuity and link to Brodeur present and future," said Coville. They include Mike Brewer, Steve Marchant, Jerry Johnson, Cleve Langton, Renzo Bardetti, and Karen and Andy Beaupre.

"We're also fortunate to have in place our long time partners in the Brodeur global network, which allows our footprint to expand across oceans and continents," Coville added.

The company's Open Partnership model includes the Brodeur Advisory Board – some of the most respected leaders in finance, business and brand communications – and outside strategic talent collectively known as Circles. Together, they bring fresh perspective, eliminate typical agency myopia and bring innovative thinking to Brodeur clients.

About Brodeur Partners

Brodeur Partners is a strategic communications company that helps organizations become and remain relevant in a complicated world. Headquartered in Boston, the company has five U.S. offices and operates in 33 countries globally. It is differentiated by its focus on Relevance and ability to bring a discipline-agnostic approach to its non-profit, consumer and business-to-business clients. Visit the new website at www.brodeur.com

SOURCE Brodeur Partners