Public affairs firm Rally in Hollywood specializes in issue advocacy for entertainment figures and public-interest clients. For instance, it managed and helped create the American Foundation for Equal Rights, sole sponsor of the federal case challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8.
Now, the firm is getting more directly involved in politics, recently creating an arm called Rally Campaigns that focuses on political and media consulting.
Felix Schein, Rally’s chief executive, said the main difference from the company’s core business and the new one is that Rally Campaigns will focus more on the short term, working on election campaigns and ballot initiatives.
“The Rally umbrella organization is moved to issues advocacy,” Schein said. “Clients are longer term, strategies are more varied.”
He said the decision to create a practice focusing on political consulting was the result of consumer demand. Leo Wallach, Rally’s principal, oversees the Rally Campaigns practice.
“We’ve had candidates express interest in working with us,” Schein said. “Leo Wallach has a background in campaigning and initiative work. And we wanted to leverage that experience and his know-how and offer clients of all stripes more strategic options.”
Rally Campaigns specializes in services such as national and statewide earned-media management, campaign consulting for Democratic candidates and producing ballot campaigns that integrate research and advertising.
Rally was founded in 2012 and has an additional office in San Francisco.
Keeping It 100
Playa Vista ad agency 72andSunny now has both feet in the door of holding company MDC Partners Inc.
The parent company, headquartered in New York and Toronto, completed a deal last month to purchase the 49 percent of 72andSunny it didn’t own already, according to its most recent quarterly filing.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but the filing indicates that MDC acquired the remaining stake from 72andSunny management and that the total consideration will depend on the ad agency’s financial performance over the next six years. The filing also reports that the selling management group agreed to extend their employment terms while retaining a significant financial interest in the agency’s performance.
Matt Jarvis, chief strategy officer at 72andSunny, said the agency is excited about the company’s future.
“MDC has been a great partner to 72andSunny and this agreement is an example,” he said in a statement. “Their contractual guarantees of autonomy, entrepreneurship and investments into our company are uncommon if not unheard of.”
MDC acquired a majority stake in 72andSunny in 2010. At the time, MDC’s then-Chief Executive Miles Nadal said the “talent at 72andSunny is as good as we have ever seen” and offered clients the “ability to make their brands matter in culture.”
News of MDC’s expanded stake in 72andSunny comes at a sticky time for the holding company, which also owns agencies such as CP+B, Anomaly and Doner. Nadal stepped down in July amid an ongoing investigation into his finances by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He agreed in April to pay back $8.6 million worth of expenses charged to MDC dating back to 2009 and is in the process of paying back an additional $21 million.
Agencies & Accounts
DKC Public Relations in Beverly Hills has added Redbury Hotel in Hollywood as a client. … Playa Vista ad agency Team One has named Steve Bava management director of account services. Bava previously served as managing director at iCrossing Inc. in Santa Monica. … West L.A. ad agency Quigley-Simpson has named Harpreet Ahuja executive vice president of media. Ahuja previously served as managing partner and global managing director for Mindshare in Los Angeles. … PR firm Anthemic Agency in L.A.’s Fairfax District has signed entertainment venue owner Lucky Strike Entertainment as a client. … Santa Monica creative agency Mistress has named Lixaida Lorenzo creative director. Lorenzo had been creative director and copywriter with JWT San Juan in Puerto Rico. … Playa Vista ad agency TVGla has signed Italian beverage company Gruppo Campari as a client. TVGla will be responsible for international digital marketing and social media for brands Wild Turkey, Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum and Skyy Vodka. … West L.A. PR firm Murphy O’Brien has added several clients: Century City real estate firm Laurus Corp., Hotel Zephyr in San Francisco, HKS Hospitality Group in Dallas and St. Regis Monarch Beach resort in Dana Point. … M&C Saatchi L.A. in Santa Monica has named Mandy Graham director of strategic planning and has promoted Maria Smith to creative director. Graham previously worked as a freelancer and Smith was a copywriter. … Ad agency Campbell Ewald’s West Hollywood office has named Jo Shoesmith executive creative director. Shoesmith previously served as creative director for the Chicago office of ad agency Leo Burnett.
Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.
