Global agency Dentsu buys Mitchell PR firm

Fayetteville-based public relations firm Mitchell Communications Group Inc. has been acquired by Dentsu Network, a marketing agency with media and branding components, based in New York.

The purchase is Dentsu Network’s first public-relations acquisition and will be its opening move toward building a global public-relations network, said Tim Andree, Dentsu Network’s chief executive officer.

The Dentsu Network has 82 offices in 29 countries. Its parent company, Tokyobased Dentsu Inc., is the top advertising company inJapan. The terms of the deal were not released.

Mitchell Communications will remain based in Fayetteville. The company has annual gross revenue of $13 million, 75 employees and a network of more than 20 project employees in 14 states.

Its clients include some of largest companies based in Arkansas, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. andTyson Foods Inc. Other clients include Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Procter & Gamble and Southwestern Energy Co.

Elise Mitchell, 51, Mitchell Communications Group’s chief executive officer, will keep her post and will become an executive with Dentsu and a member of its operating committee. She will report to Andree.

Andree said that after an exhaustive search, it was decided Mitchell Communications’ client-centric approach to public relations would make the company a strong addition to the network. He added that Elise Mitchell is a recognized industry leader who brings great expertise to the table.

Carol Reeves, associate vice-provost for entrepreneurship at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said in an e-mail that the purchase was an acknowledgment of Elise Mitchell’s talent and the strength of the team she’s built.

“Mitchell Communications is just one example of many high-potential startups in Northwest Arkansas, and I hope to see more announcements like this in the future,” Reeves wrote.

Before the sale, privately held Mitchell Communications Group was owned by Mitchell, the majority shareholder, and Michael Clark, the company’s chief operating officer, as the minority shareholder.

Mitchell said the purchase was a chance to expand the company and offer national and global reach to its clients, while still remaining in Northwest Arkansas and keeping Mitchell Communications’ brand and culture.

“From Northwest Arkansas we can have an impact on the world,” she said in an interview Friday.

Mitchell said that as she built Mitchell Communications, selling the operation was never a priority. Instead, she focused on developing a dynamic and flexible publicrelations organization.

Sarah Clark, 51, the former executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Mitchell Communications, will become president of Mitchell Communications. Sarah Clark is not related to Michael Clark.

In 1995, Elise Mitchell started her company and staffed it with contract public-relations professionals who worked on specific projects - what the company calls its virtual employee model. The company hired its first full-time employees in 2005, and by 2008 it had 13 full-time employees.

Alan Ellstrand, chairman of the management department at the Walton College of Business, said the acquisition was good for both parties, with Dentsu Network gaining the experience and reputation that comes with Mitchell Communications, and Mitchell Communications gaining the backing of a large, global organization. He said the deal raises Northwest Arkansas’ business profile even higher.

“Deals like this show we can run with the big dogs,” he said.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/05/2013

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