PR firms are consolidating, restructuring, and chasing paid digital scale. The shifts run from the top of the strategic communications stack down to in-house marketing teams. Revenue is moving. Headcounts are not.
FTI Consulting Posts Steady Growth
FTI Consulting's strategic communications segment grew across every sector it covers — energy through life sciences. Q2 revenue rose 2.8% to $59M. Global segment leader Mark McCall credits the firm's investment in senior practitioners with deep public affairs and media training experience across North America and EMEA.
Cobham–Advent: $5B in Play
UK defense and aerospace company Cobham is positioned to partner with Advent International on a $5B bid, pending British regulatory review. CEO David Lockwood frames the deal as the capital injection Cobham needs to upgrade its product and service quality.
Rogers & Cowan and PMK*BNC Merge
Two of Hollywood's largest entertainment PR firms — Rogers & Cowan and PMK*BNC — are merging into a single agency. Cindi Berger, current chairman and CEO of PMK*BNC, says the combined firm will represent movie stars, music legends, filmmakers, athletes, and more than 30 global brands. The merger follows last year's exit of co-chairman/CEO Michael Nyman and several senior executives from PMK*BNC.
Uber Cuts a Third of Global Marketing
Uber is cutting roughly a third of its global marketing staff. In an internal email first reported by The New York Times, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees the teams were producing "mediocre results." Former CMO Rebecca Messina resigned last year after less than 12 months in the role. Uber reported a $1.01 billion quarterly loss in May.
The Pattern
Strategic communications firms with senior practitioners are growing. Entertainment PR is consolidating. In-house marketing departments at high-burn companies are being cut. The talent and the spend are moving toward agencies that can deliver measurable revenue impact — not headcount.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
