Communications agencies, like most businesses, grow through organic expansion and acquisition. Each strategy has its benefits. Organic growth demonstrates there is genuine demand for the agency’s services, a loyal client base is in place and robust internal capabilities exist. Focusing on organic growth also pushes an agency to innovate since it must continuously reinvent itself to remain competitive.
When an agency grows through acquisition, it’s equally important to know how to market an acquisition effectively. Clear communication with clients, employees and partners ensures the transition strengthens—not disrupts—existing relationships.
Acquisitions enable agencies to grow much faster in terms of clients, people and capabilities. They allow agencies to rapidly enter new markets and acquire new talent. Communications around marketing an acquisition can be complicated, since each entity has its own preferred strategies, target audiences are slightly different and the teams haven’t worked together before.
We can speak with some authority on this topic since UPRAISE was acquired by rbb Communications this summer, and we have been through the process!
rbb Communications Announces the Acquisition of UPRAISE
On July 17, 2025, rbb Communications announced it had acquired UPRAISE!
rbb is an integrated communications agency founded in 1975 that has grown successfully through organic growth and acquisitions. It offers a comprehensive suite of services, including strategic branding, creative campaigns, traditional and digital PR, crisis and risk management, media relations, corporate communications, paid media planning and buying, digital marketing, advertising, multicultural and Hispanic marketing, and web/technology solutions.
UPRAISE is a strategic communications agency founded in 2003 that offers a wide range of services with a primary focus on media and industry analyst relations, content development and thought leadership.
rbb’s expansion plans included adding expertise in technology public relations to capitalize on opportunities in the rapidly growing tech sector in the southeastern U.S. UPRAISE’s growth plans were driven by the goal of expanding its range of services in-house, rather than through the use of freelance talent or agency partnerships.
Both agencies are client- and people-forward organizations. rbb’s longest client relationships span more than 30 years, while UPRAISE’s longest has lasted 18 years.. The average tenure of the rbb team is nine years, while for UPRAISE, it’s eight years. From an operational and cultural perspective, there was a strong fit.
How to Market an Acquisition
Moving on to the lessons learned, as with so many marketing projects, preparation is key. Before any public announcement or marketing of the acquisition, both entities need to cover a lot of ground.
Building the Infrastructure for Marketing an Acquisition
Before marketing an acquisition, the two entities must agree on the agency structure and public-facing touchpoints. These include areas such as:
- Branding – Will the acquired entity’s brand remain independent, become a subsidiary of the acquirer’s brand, or disappear entirely?
- Team – Will the current team remain in place, with its titles, salaries, and responsibilities remaining unchanged?
- Client Service – Will the scope of work and level of service remain?
- Contracts – Will existing client contracts continue, or will the acquiring entity replace them?
- Administrative Functions – Will accounting, human resources, legal and related functions remain independent or be taken over by the acquiring company?
- Marketing and Business Development – Will each agency continue to market and attract business independently, will the acquirer take over, or will they “blend” the approach and reference both brands when appropriate?
Developing Clear Messaging for M&A Communications
With the structure and touchpoint details in place, the companies can move on to messaging, which should answer basic questions such as:
- Why is the acquisition taking place?
- What does each entity hope to gain?
- How will the acquired team be integrated into the acquirer’s agency?
- Why is the acquisition a benefit for both agencies’ clients, people and partners?
- How is the combined agency greater than the sum of the parts?
In addition to telling the acquisition story effectively, the goal of effective messaging is to avoid speculation among clients, people and partners by telling the complete story. A mentor said to me once, “When you leave things to people’s imaginations, they tend to imagine them badly.”
Creating an Effective Information Flow for M&A Communication
With messaging in place, the agencies need to determine the optimal flow of information, including who is informed first, next, and so on. Informing the team first can make sense in many situations since they are more likely to keep the information confidential until others have been informed. If clients are informed first, it’s a risk that one of them will contact the team and ask for more details, for example.
Briefing the Acquiree’s Team Before Marketing an Acquisition
It can be beneficial to inform the agency’s senior leaders initially, as the junior team may go to those leaders first with questions or concerns. For the whole team, it’s important to highlight the opportunities created by the acquisition, such as a more comprehensive training program, the chance to work on different types of client accounts and improved benefits. But it’s also important to be realistic and let them know that there will likely be some things about the acquisition that aren’t as appealing.
Briefing the Acquiree’s Clients Before Marketing an Acquisition
Since closing acquisitions often takes months, agencies should use this time to ensure that client relationships are as strong as possible. There’s a potential that announcing the acquisition may cause concerns among clients; building up an extra level of goodwill will tend to mitigate these concerns.
The leadership team should tailor message points to each client relationship, addressing specific opportunities and concerns that are relevant to that client. One client may be eager to learn more about a new capability, while another may be concerned that the current scope of work will be reduced.
Communicating with the Acquirer’s Team and Clients During an Acquisition
Acquisitions also create new opportunities for the acquirer. Acquirer team members can gain exposure to new markets and skill sets. Acquisitions tend to be a win for the acquirer’s clients, as their agency relationships remain intact and they can access the new services the acquired agency offers.
Taking the News Public: Marketing an Acquisition Successfully
Ideally, the timeframe is short between informing the team, informing clients and taking the news public to avoid potential leaks. Before announcing the acquisitions, the acquiree team should complete several branding tasks. While none of these are “mission critical,” having them in place shows the public that the acquiring and acquiree agencies strategized the announcement carefully. Among these tasks:
- Have social posts written, approved and scheduled to post
- Update branding on social channels, the acquiree agency’s website and any sites where the acquiree has a listing
- Have new email signatures ready for use
- Determine how each agency will announce the acquisition on their websites and have the copy and graphics finalized
- Distribute key message points to both teams to help them answer questions
In addition to drafting and distributing a press release, several activities can enhance the marketing impact of the acquisition. Consider setting up an email campaign targeting prospects; sometimes, news, such as an acquisition, can spark new interest among leads. Consider placing contributed articles that highlight a current PR industry or other trend the acquisition reflects. Create a special edition of your newsletter to highlight key messages about the acquisition.
Marketing the rbb acquisition of UPRAISE has been a success. Clients have embraced the change, both teams are energized by new client relationships and skill sets and the agencies are already collaborating on co-marketing opportunities.
How UPRAISE Can Help
UPRAISE has a long history of helping organizations navigate change through strategic PR, branding, and marketing programs, with a particular focus on the tech and financial services sectors.
Please reach out for more information about how we can generate interest in your company.