EXCLUSIVE: Changes are coming for R&CPMK. Rumors started circulating a couple of weeks ago that the veteran PR agency, owned by Interpublic Group, will be dissolving. While that is not the case, a source close to IPG tells Deadline that R&CPMK in its current form will operate through Nov. 16 when it will undergo a major revamp.
“Our parent company has been looking at opportunities to streamline its structure and focus on its core business areas,” R&CPMK CEO Cindi Berger said in a statement to Deadline. “In line with that process, IPG has moved certain parts of R&CPMK’s business into other areas of its portfolio. For the additional areas of the business, notably the celebrity talent, film content, events publicity, brand and business strategy, I will have more information to share and an exciting announcement soon.”
During IPG’s Q4 earnings call, CEO Philippe Krakowksy outlined “plans for the organizational restructuring” the company would be undertaking in 2025. It involved a focus on core areas of growth such as AI-driven creativity, commerce and data enabled marketing while “streamlining efficiencies within our agencies and the centralization of a number of corporate functions,” among other steps projected to generate savings of approximately $250 million in 2025.
IPG already has moved R&CPMK teams — believed to be related to corporate client representation — to other IPG entities that have established relationships in that area as the parent company determines a path forward for the agency brand.
PMK started as Pickwick Public Relations, founded by Pat Kingsley, Gerry Johnson and Patricia Newcomb. That firm merged in 1980 with Maslansky/Koenigsberg and subsequently with BNC — the PR firm formed by Howard Bragman, Mike Nyman and Brad Cafarelli. R&C was founded in 1950 by Henry Rogers and Warren Cowan.
Rogers & Cowan and PMK*BNC announced in July 2019 that they were merging, pooling a collective client roster that exceeded 30 corporate brands and 500 individual clients including Denzel Washington, Brie Larson, Felicity Jones, Elton John, Sly Stallone and many more.
In 2024, R&CPMK experienced a big departure when the firm’s Co-Presidents of Talent, Lindsay Galin and Jeff Raymond, exited to start their own talent-driven public relations company, 2PM Sharp. R&CPMK filed lawsuits against 2PM Sharp and the former employees for allegedly soliciting clients and breaching their contracts.
