Bought out, stuck together, and torn apart
Founded by John Brodeur in 1985 as a small, Boston-based advertising agency, Brodeur has since grown to become a major global communications and services consultancy for clients in the IT, consumer technology, e-business, and health technology fields. Despite its somewhat meager beginnings, by 1993 the company had become successful enough to attract the attention of industry giant Omnicom, who bought out Brodeur the same year. Soon after the acquisition, Omnicom assumed that if it combined Brodeur with another one of its subsidiaries, Porter Novelli, the two companies would gradually and naturally blend into one cohesive unit. But this was not to be, as Omnicom quickly found out. Both companies continued to keep separate offices and separate management teams. By 1999, it became clear to Omnicom that this strategy wasn't working out as planned, as high-tech clients such as Philips Electronics and 3M Corp that Brodeur serviced had little in common with PN's health care-related clients.
Brand new day
After splitting with Porter Novelli, Brodeur changed its name to Brodeur Worldwide to further reflect its independence from its sister agency. Since then, the company has expanded its global reach, concentrating on clients in information technology, consumer technology, e-business, and the health technology markets. In September 1999, the company further expanded its reach by launching a successful Health Technology Specialty Practice, which has racked up such clients as Philips Medical Systems and Quality Care Solutions. Brodeur has spun off a few units of its own as well, including Brodeur Interactive, Meridian Technology Marketing, and Braupre & Co. The company also maintains over a dozen partnerships in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and in 1999 was rated 13th among the top 50 PR firms with some $70 million in billings.
