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Harrisburg-based Merit acquires PR firm in Oregon
Listen to this articleMerit Marketing Inc., which was previously known as Sacunas Inc., announced last week that LT Public Relations (LTPR) is now part of Merit. Founded in 2007, LTPR is a six-person firm that specializes in the financial, legal and health care sectors.
The deal took effect Nov. 1. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Casey Boggs, president of the Portland-based firm, is now president of communications at Merit. He also will run West Coast operations for Merit, said Adam Vasquez, president and CEO of the Dauphin County firm.
The two firms had partnered on projects for West Coast clients after Merit opened an office in Portland last year. Merit will continue to use LTPR’s office in the city.
“Merit gravitates towards market inventors,” Vasquez said. “Casey and his team truly share the vision that organizations need to stop marketing and start market inventing. That’s where we’re a natural fit together.”
Vasquez recently coined the term “market invention” to describe the company’s blending of research and strategy with technology, customer experience, communications and creative services.
“Bringing on LTPR complements our services and strengthens our ability to disrupt the marketing, advertising, strategy consulting and public relations industries,” he said.
Vasquez bought Sacunas in 2015 and changed its name this summer.
Along with the name change, the nearly 40-person company transitioned to serving both business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients. The firm was long known for being an exclusively B2B company.
Vasquez said the decision to serve a broader client base has been a good one so far.
And he sees greater opportunity to expand as other industries face potential disruptions from large companies like Amazon, which recently entered the grocery industry with the acquisition of Whole Foods.
Financial analysts have been trying to predict what businesses are most vulnerable to the “Amazon effect.”
