Culture marketing specialists Bolster and arts and entertainment PR agency Common State have merged to form a newly created agency group.
Bolster Group will provide a full-service offer incorporating communications; creative; media; PR; talent and influencer management; events; and digital and commercial rights services. Bolster Group will continue to work with clients from the music, entertainment, and arts industries, and with brands who seek deeper connections into these sectors, networks and sphere of influence.
The group will also welcome commercial rights, experiential and sponsorship specialists Aeroplane Agency and Indigenous-owned creative collective Going North. Based in Darwin, Going North works with a range of clients to deliver culture-forward projects in the Northern Territory.
Common State founder Luke McKinnon and Bolster managing director James Clarke – the founder of Aeroplane Agency and Going North – will be the largest shareholders of the newly formed entity. Clarke will serve as CEO of Bolster Group and McKinnon as its managing partner, while also remaining managing director of Common State. As part of the amalgamation, Emma Costello returns to Common State as general manager after a stint in Europe, and Darren Levin steps into the newly created role of head of creative and strategy.
“The plan was simple,” says co-founder Luke McKinnon. “Bring the absolute best-of-the-best when it comes to entertainment and culture marketing services under one roof and present clients with a robust integrated offer. Each agency brings deep sector expertise, but it is our inherent understanding of the cultural space that connects us. For brands, ‘delivering cultural relevance’ is a clarion call. Bolster Group agencies know no other way. It’s what got us here in the first place.”
Current clients across the group include Bacardi Martini, YouTube, Nike, RISING, Secret Sounds, Rone, Melbourne International Film Festival, Tourism NT, Always Live, Square, Revel Group, City of Melbourne, Afterpay, Sydney Festival, Electronic Arts (The Sims, FIFA and Need for Speed), Google, ACMI and Pernod Ricard.
“Bolster and Common State’s trajectories have risen in parallel,” says the group’s new CEO, James Clarke. “From scrappy start-up beginnings, we’re both delivering world-class campaigns for the country’s best entertainment organisations and culture-focused brands. We’ve built out new ventures with great partners along the way including Going North and Aeroplane. My focus for the group is to enable clients to unlock maximum value through our integrated service offering – something that has not been done to its fullest potential in the entertainment and culture space before. This is also about giving our talented teams the opportunity to creatively flex across different marketing disciplines and a broad range of projects and outputs.”
Headquartered in Melbourne, Bolster Group employs 62 specialists across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin, with clients spanning Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, and the United States.
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Top Image: Bolster Group team