NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohn & Wolfe, a
leading communications agency, today announced that it has acquired
a majority stake in Grupo Maquina,
one of Brazil's largest and most
widely respected public relations agencies. Maquina Cohn & Wolfe, with 240 employees
across offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de
Janeiro and Brasilia, has
the combined talent and experience to meet demand for global
integrated marketing services from Brazilian companies and
multinational companies alike.
Maquina was founded in 1995 by Maristela Mafei, an award-winning
entrepreneur and one of the country's top female business leaders.
Today, Maquina is known for its digital and integrated
communications work across numerous industries, including finance,
education, consumer technology, retail,
entertainment, government and tourism. The agency has
specialty divisions focused on digital, video content, branding,
advertising and package design services.
"Latin America has become a
very important region for our clients and Brazil is a critical market for Cohn &
Wolfe. After working with many good agencies, we were most
impressed with Maquina's excellence in digital and integrated
marketing," says Donna Imperato,
Chief Executive Officer, Cohn & Wolfe. "They have an
impressive client base and an equally impressive leadership
team. We share values, including creativity, entrepreneurship
and focus on client service, which will ensure a strong and
long-lasting partnership and joint success."
Mafei will remain Director-General of Maquina Cohn & Wolfe, reporting to Imperato.
Marcelo Diego and Daniella Camargos will continue in their roles
as Co-CEOs, reporting to Mafei. They will keep their positions as
partners with Maquina Cohn &
Wolfe.
Named Best PR Agency in Brazil
four times at the prestigious Comunique-se Awards, Maquina was
the first Brazilian PR agency to sign the UN Global Compact
Initiative and is the only public relations agency that belongs to
Endeavor, an international organization that supports
entrepreneurship. The agency's extensive roster of both
public and private sector clients includes Credit Suisse, EY, Zara,
Xerox, Carrefour, L'Oréal, Nextel, MetLife, Bridgestone, GP
Investments, Embratur, BRMalls, Qualicorp, Hypermarcas, Raízen,
BRF, Grupo Estacio, Insper and
Gafisa. Máquina also works with the entrepreneur Jorge Paulo Lemann and the companies and
foundations attached to him in Brazil, including Kraft Heinz, 3G Capital,
AmBev, B2W/Lojas Americanas, São Carlos, Lemann Foundation, Estudar
Foundation and Endeavor.
"We recently celebrated our 20th anniversary and
I couldn't be more proud of the accomplishments of our remarkable
teams and the work they have done for our trusted clients," says
Mafei. "What I envision for our next 20 years can be achieved by
becoming part of the Cohn & Wolfe family. This partnership will
bring unmatched strengths globally that will benefit our current
multinational clients and attract many more here and throughout
Latin America. We will continue to
provide the best of our culture, but will now be associated with
one of the largest agencies in the world."
This is the second recent acquisition by Cohn & Wolfe, which
agreed to acquire a majority stake in India's Six Degrees PR and Alphabet Consulting
in September. Cohn & Wolfe has delivered double-digit global
growth in 2014 and 2015 and, in the past year, was named Large PR
Firm of the Year (PRNews), Best Large Place to Work (Holmes, PRWeek) and Southeast Asia Agency of
the Year (Holmes).
About Cohn & Wolfe
Cohn & Wolfe, a global communications agency, builds brands
and corporate reputations through an uncompromising commitment to
creativity. The agency's strategic approach unearths fresh,
relevant insights leading to communications solutions that deliver
measurable business success. Over its 45-year history, Cohn &
Wolfe's brand marketing work and world-class digital media
campaigns have attracted top brands around the world, winning
awards at the Cannes Health Lions, the Global SABREs and the Global
PRWeek Awards. With a creative network of more than 1,200 employees
in over 50 offices across North
America, EMEA and Asia, the
agency has been named a Best Place to Work by The Holmes Report,
PRWeek and PRNews. Cohn & Wolfe is part of WPP
(Nasdaq: WPPGY), the world's largest communications services
group.
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