NEW YORK and SAO PAULO, Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Interpublic today announced it has acquired majority control of S2Publicom, ranked among the top five public relations firms in Brazil. The operation will represent an important part of Weber Shandwick and Golin Harris growth plans in the region. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

S2Publicom was formed last year by the merger of S2 and Publicom, two major public relations firms that have been operating in the country for more than two decades, both of which were affiliates of Weber Shandwick and Golin Harris. The firm has two offices in Sao Paulo and one in Rio de Janeiro. It employs 125 professionals with broad communications and media relations expertise, as well as specialists in crisis management, media training and digital communications. S2Publicom has been at the center of marketing communications in Brazil, providing clients with strategic communications insights and counsel in multiple sectors such as corporate, consumer, technology and healthcare. McDonald’s, Petrobras, HTC and Gol Airlines are among the agency’s long-standing clients.

Jose Luiz Schiavoni, one of S2Publicom’s founding partners, will continue to lead the company as CEO. Schiavoni has been a pioneer in the public relations industry in Brazil. In addition to his client-related experience, he has been a vocal advocate for continuous improvement of professional standards and ethics in public relations. He also served as the president of the Brazilian Association of Public Relations Agencies (Abracom) for four years, from 2004 to 2008. Two of the other three original founding partners, Luciana Gurgel and Aldo De Luca, will continue to be senior strategists and client counselors.

Harris Diamond, chief executive officer of Interpublic’s Constituency Management Group, which includes Weber Shandwick, Golin Harris and other companies with operations in Brazil including FutureBrand and Octagon, commented about the acquisition: “Our successful past collaborations with S2Publicom convinced us that they are the right partners to help Weber Shandwick and Golin Harris support their multinational clients and to continue to build a great business together in what is clearly one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Brazil is one of the largest consumer markets in the world, and as it plans to host the FIFA World Cup^™ 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, we see great opportunities to build our presence in the market.”

Schiavoni added, “Through our long association as an affiliate partner with Weber Shandwick and Golin Harris, our agencies have built a relationship of mutual trust. The experience of bringing the best thinking to our clients has demonstrated that our business philosophies and styles are a good fit. We are very excited that we can now offer our staff more opportunities for professional development and can offer our clients a global reach.”

About Interpublic

Interpublic is one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include Draftfcb, FutureBrand, GolinHarris International, HUGE, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, Lowe and Partners, MAGNAGLOBAL, McCann Erickson, Momentum, MRM Worldwide, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Leading domestic brands include Campbell Ewald; Campbell Mithun; Carmichael Lynch; Deutsch, a Lowe and Partners Company; Gotham Inc.; Hill Holliday; ID Media; Mullen and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.

About Weber Shandwick

Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 74 countries around the world. The firm’s success is built on its deep commitment to client service, our people, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates – engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. In 2010, Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report for the second year in a row; an ‘Agency of the Decade’ by Advertising Age, Large PR Agency of the Year by Bulldog Reporter, a Digital Firm of the Year by PR News, and Top Corporate Responsibility Advisory Firm by CR Magazine. The firm has also won numerous ‘best place to work’ awards around the world. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com.

About GolinHarris

Established in 1956, GolinHarris is a holistic communications firm designed and built to win in a complex digital world. From our global practices, to specialty services, to proprietary tools, our focus is to provide clients with a wealth of innovative thinking and creativity. We have 34 offices throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Our global strength is enhanced by the local expertise of more than 25 affiliate partners, allowing us to provide our clients with comprehensive solutions for multi-market, regional and global communications programs. We provide strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, corporate communications, digital/social media, corporate social responsibility, healthcare, internal communications, multicultural communications, technology and public affairs. For more than 50 years, GolinHarris has created innovative and award-winning public relations programs that deliver results for clients such as Dow Chemical Company, Florida Department of Citrus, Kaiser Permanente, McDonald’s, Unilever, Nintendo of America Inc., Orange and Texas Instruments. GolinHarris was recognized as the 2011 Best Large Agency to Work for by the Holmes Report, PRWeek’s 2010 Large PR Agency of the Year and the 2009 Asia Pacific PR Consultancy of Year. The agency is headquartered in Chicago and is a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit www.golinharris.com.

SOURCE Weber Shandwick