Ogilvy buys Bullet PR

Ogilvy head Greg Partington has bought Bullet PR, effective immediately.

The PR outfit, previously owned by Nicholas O’Flaherty (with his partner Jennifer Duval-Smith and Joanne Pidgeon), will move into the Ogilvy headquarters in Parnell next month.

The acquisition sees the birth of a new Ogilvy unit, called Ogilvy 360° Digital Influence.

Mr O’Flaherty declined to name the figure for which he sold his business.

“That’s commercially sensitive information,” he told NBR.

Bullet PR clients that will be transferring to Ogilvy include the likes of Panasonic, 2degrees, dtr, realestate.co.nz, Home Star, Vista, Am Cham, Contiki and Pinnacle Life.

Bullet PR’s five staff will be making the shift to Ogilvy.

The staff roster includes former Ogilvy PR man Brendan Boughen.

The new unit won’t be doing external PR for Ogilvy, however.

That’s handled by well-known media man Bill Ralston.

“We’re going to be focused on PR for Bullet clients and Ogilvy clients,” Mr O’Flaherty said.

Ogilvy currently has a small PR offering.

“Greg is a genius,” Mr O’Flaherty said in response to NBR’s questions surrounding Ogilvy CEO Greg Partington’s penchant for visiting the ERA.

“The most exciting thing is that this has begun as a conversation between them and us about social media marketing digital engagement space,” Mr O’Flaherty told NBR.

“That is the future of public relations. We have some experience in the online PR space, and they have a lot of smarts, frankly. Search, web development, they’ve got a lot of runs on the board when it comes to social media marketing.”

Mr Partington said in a statement that joining forces with Bullet PR makes sense.

“Over the last [sic] few years Ogilvy has built an enviable reputation in the digital space, while Bullet PR has been the leader in online public relations in New Zealand for a long time.

“The combination of these capabilities in Ogilvy 360˚ Digital Influence gives our clients world class social media marketing, building word of mouth, both on and offline.”

Other media statements:

Nicholas O’Flaherty, Managing Director, Bullet PR:
“Successful communication will always be based on universal principles such as clearly defined strategy, creative smarts, and measurement based on agreed business outcomes. But today it’s increasingly clear that a more integrated marketing offering generates the best overall results for clients, and that’s why we’re excited to be part of Ogilvy 360˚ Digital Influence.”

Greg Whitham, Head of Ogilvy Interactive and newly elected chair of CAANZ Digital Leadership Group:
“We have made significant inroads over 2010 – bringing notable presence to some of our largest clients within the digital social space. Having the direct contact and support of a proven industry leader like Bullet PR completes our offering, and will ensure that our clients’ share of earned media and word of mouth is dramatically in their favour.”