Drew Wilson
M Public Affairs and ASGK Public Strategies announced Wednesday they would merge operations under a new name: Kivvit.
The two companies have been owned by the same parent company since 2010, and ASGK opened an office in Miami in January. Since then, the communications house has added the Miami Beach Convention Headquarter Hotel, Miami Open and Bal Harbour Shops as clients.
ASGK managing partner Eric Sedler, who opened the firm with former White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod, said the company “outgrew the ASGK name.”
“Kivvit provides us with a brand we will define based on our unique attributes,” Sedler said. “We’re a firm set up to work seamlessly at the national, state and local levels, with the ability to apply very distinct capabilities on behalf of our clients.”
The Kivvit name is based on an Alaskan Native word meaning “valuable” and “durable,” which meshes with a communications firm specializing in crisis management. The company employs 60 communications professionals across their offices in Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Washington DC and Miami and also specializes in media relations, executive positioning, government, digital communications and campaign management.
The two firms brought in $12.5 million in revenue across those five offices last year and said they expect that to jump to $15.5 million this year under the Kivvit name. Sedler and Maggie Moran, who launched M Public Affairs in 2009, will take the lead on developing the new brand.
“We have a very detailed understanding of the markets in which we operate,” Moran said. “We know the players in government, business, media and advocacy in a way that makes us stand apart. Having a national approach and cohesive state and local strategy will enable us to build and expand through our unmatched public affairs lens.”
