Providence-based Trion Communications has acquired local competitor Evergreen Communications, a move that will make the 10-year-old company one of the largest public relation firms in Rhode Island.
As part of the deal, completed last week, Evergreen principals Brian Heil and David Gallone, as well as six full-time staff members and several freelancers, will join Trion. Heil will assume the title of director of client services and Gallone will serve as creative director.
Based on 2001 capitalized billings for both companies, Trion expects to see its billings jump by nearly 50 percent to an estimated $31 million. Last year, Trion reported billings of $21.5 million, while Providence-based Evergreen reported $9 million.
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Executives at both companies would not disclose the sale price of Evergreen.
Trion executives said five-year-old Evergreen’s concentration on advertising will be important in strengthening the ad side of Trion, which also offers public relations and government relations services.
“(Evergreen) has very strong creative talent that will help us get to another level creatively,” said Josh Fenton, one of Trion’s three principals. He runs the company with Frank McMahon and David Preston.
When it started in 1992, Trion, then called McMahon Preston Communications, specialized in federal and state government relations and public relations. In 2000, Fenton left Providence-based RDW Group to lead the agency’s advertising division.
At Evergreen, Heil and Gallone realized earlier this year that to stay competitive it would need to expand its service beyond advertising.
“Our philosophical idea was to keep the company as a smaller boutique agency. But, we learned pretty quickly that creative boutiques don’t necessarily get the bigger pieces of businesses, ” said Heil, who, along with his staff, will move from Evergreen’s Dorrance Street offices to Trion’s headquarters at the Foundry Complex.
Evergreen’s staff brings with them a list of local, regional and national clients, including the Rhode Island Lottery, FleetBoston and Four Point Sheraton. Evergreen has also created a niche in travel and tourism advertising.
With Evergreen’s personnel, Trion will increase its work force from 22 employees to about 30, making it one of the largest public relations staffs in the state. The company will also join firms like RDW Group, Inc. and Duffy & Shanley, Inc. on top the list of companies with the highest billings, based on 2001 billing information provided by the companies to AdWeek, a trade publication. According to the AdWeek figures, RDW has the largest billing numbers in Rhode Island at more than $72 million.
Preston said the addition of Evergreen’s expertise will not only benefit advertising clients.
“Creative thinking will be of great value to how we approach grassroots communications for our government relations clients and will add more innovative thinking to our delivery of public relations,” he said.
Trion’s clients include Sodexho USA, WL Gore (the makers of GORE-TEX) and Brown University.
Fenton said clients from both companies were contacted after the agencies put finishing touches on the deal. He said Evergreen’s clients shouldn’t notice a negative impact on services. “They will get stronger, smarter and more creative resources to tap into,” he added.
Asked about pricing, Fenton said, “I don’t think there will be a big strategic change to that approach to business.”
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