Albuquerque, N.M., shop Rick Johnson & Co. is merging with smaller, in-town rival Strascina & Partners Advertising next week to form a $30 million agency that proprietors envision as a regional competitor.
The deal combines the state’s two largest agencies under the Rick Johnson banner and will include a public relations subsidiary headed by former Strascina owner Peter Strascina. The new partnership is one that has Johnson chairman and chief executive officer Rick Johnson hopeful that his shop can garner some attention in Colorado, Arizona and even Texas.
“Our phone hasn’t exactly been ringing off the wall for [out-of-state] clients who are putting together agency reviews,” said Johnson, whose pre-merger billings of approximately $22 million are built largely on in-state accounts.
The new agency will have Strascina’s 16 employees moving into Rick Johnson offices, which will now house 71 staffers.
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