U.S. communications firm BPI expands in Europe, rebrands as Bully Pulpit International
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Bully Pulpit Interactive, the strategic communications agency with close ties to the Biden White House, has acquired European consulting firm BOLDT and will rebrand as Bully Pulpit International (BPI), Axios first learned.
Why it matters: This is BPI's first international acquisition and will position the well-known Democratic firm as a global leader in the public affairs and communications advisory space.
Be smart: BPI —which was founded in 2009 by Obama campaign alum Andrew Bleeker and digital media strategist Ben Clark — has long served as a revolving door for comms talent within Democratic administrations.
- In 2016, BPI acquired The Incite Agency, which was founded by Obama administration alums Robert Gibbs and Ben LaBolt — the latter of whom now serves as White House communications director under President Biden.
- Former Biden-Harris administration officials Jeff Nussbaum and Scott Mulhauser also serve as partners at BPI.
Details: Reps for BPI would not disclose deal terms, but said the BPI and BOLDT organizational structures will remain the same.
- The combined firm will include 250 global employees across Germany, Belgium, Norway, England, Switzerland and the U.S.
Zoom in: The firm's client list includes major brands like McDonald's, Walmart, General Mills, PGA Tour and Goldman Sachs.
- In fact, it was McDonald's global chief impact officer Jon Banner who connected the BPI and BOLDT teams.
What they're saying: "On topics from the green transition to AI, privacy and antitrust, sophisticated companies must reach beyond Washington and Brussels and into key European constituencies," said Bleeker.
The big picture: BPI is the latest strategic communications firm to expand its global footprint.
- In 2023, Penta acquired Hume Brophy, a communications and government relations firms with offices in London, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore.
- The Glover Park Group merged with UK-based firm Finsbury and German-based Hering Schuppener in 2020 and combined with Sard Verbinnen & Co. in 2021 to create FGS Global.
