PMK*BNC Moves Offices & Why Jennifer Lawrence’s Picture Was Banned
A few updates from this week public relations news updates:
The digital age has revolutionized the PR industry completely: constant consumer access to information is felt deeply by public relations professionals, the most successful of whom have adapted by developing new outreach strategies and tweaking their tone of communication for maximum impact.
This is certainly the case for Leslie Licano and Lauren Ellermeyer, the partnership that has grown boutique agency Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc. into a publicity powerhouse. The Orange County, CA-based firm, which celebrated its sixth anniversary in September, recently moved into a new, larger office for the second time in two years. Additionally, they’ve added four dedicated professionals to its staff since May.
They’ve made the Orange County Business Journal’s distinguished list of “Fastest Growing Public Relations Firms” for the last four years consecutively and are well-known in the Orange County market, though they’ve been continually adding clients at the national level. With a down-to-earth approach to their full suite of PR services, the agency prides itself on cutting through the inefficiency associated with larger firms while providing their clients with a long-term strategy for success.
Meanwhile, PMK*BNC and nine of its sister companies have also decided to upgrade to a more spacious office environment: the entertainment marketing and communications firm has recently closed on an eleven-year lease for 150,000 square feet of office space in Century City, a soaring nineteen-story tower in Los Angeles. As the building’s flagship tenant, PMK*BNC will have exclusive signage atop the building, three full stories and ground floor space; counting the space claimed by their affiliates, which include Weber Shandwick, Rogers & Cowan, Jack Morton, Octagon, FRUKT, Advantage International, The Axis Agency, Dailey and Campbell Ewald, they will occupy eight full stories of the building.
Michael Nyman, co-chairman and CEO of PMK*BNC has noted that they’ve experienced “major growth” this year, having added over 230 employees in Los Angeles alone. With clients that include Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Samsung Mobile and Activision and new contracts that include the 2016 Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, this is an exciting time for to be a part of PMK*BNC.
News also comes from the American Marketing Association, which has recently added a number of strategic partnerships that includes the world’s largest PR firm Edelman. Along with OKRP, a leading small agency, and Fuzzy Math, a user experience design, strategy and innovation firm, Edelman has been tapped to help launch the “new AMA,” a campaign that will advance the company’s mission by expanding research and reports, examining “best vs. next practices” and updating its digital presence. Russ Klein, veteran marketer and recently-installed head of the AMA, states that “our industry is experiencing unprecedented disruption spanning each corner of business,” calling for a new face of the AMA that makes it even more vital to the marketing professionals across the United States and beyond.
And lastly, in international news, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” opened in Israel recently to the enthusiastic reception the series has received worldwide. The film’s posters, which prominently feature actress Jennifer Lawrence, were hung across all major cities in Israel except for Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.
At the request of clients in both cities, the film’s Israeli PR firm installed posters that had been altered to remove the actress, leaving only the background image of a bird. Images of females are forbidden from public display in Bnei Brak, and while they are technically legal in Jerusalem, they are frequently torn down or tampered with in accordance with the religious traditions of the city’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. “We are subject to unofficial coercion that forces us to be more careful,” a representative of the agency states. “We have had endless vandalization, and clients prefer not to take the chance,” noting that when decisions are made, it’s the client who has the final say.
