BNC, PMK/HBH Merge; Likely Form Hollywood’s Largest PR Shop

Two Hollywood PR powerhouses, Interpublic PR agencies BNC and PMK/HBH, have merged, Variety reports. No official announcement has been made, however Interpublic told executives at the agencies to begin work on “merging operations” a few weeks ago.

BNC has worked with celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Jenna Fisher, Whoopi Goldberg and Kate Hudson. Corporate clients include Samsung, T-Mobile, Audi and Amazon.com. As PRNewser reported, BNC announced they won the Spin magazine account in mid-November. PMK’s clients include Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, and Jodie Foster and corporate clients AOL, Motorola, and Reebok.

UPDATE: An insider tells PRNewser they don’t expect many jobs to be lost as a result of the merger, “because there’s not that much cross over” between the two agencies. The insider says there’s been a “management void” at PMK since Chairman-CEO Pat Kingsley left last January. While it’s been a tough year, both firms are still profitable. Some are comparing the merger to that of Hollywood talent agencies William Morris and Endeavor, which joined forces in April of this year.

RELATED: So What Do You Do, Howard Bragman, Fifteen Minutes Public Relations CEO? [And BNC Founder]

MEDIABISTRO EVENTS

Get Social Media Marketing Secrets from Experts

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.