Carmichael Lynch Spong Purchases Stanwood & Partners

MINNEAPOLIS – Carmichael Lynch Spong announced its purchase of Stanwood & Partners, a Wyoming-based public relations firm and a fellow go-to expert in the outdoor enthusiast arena. The acquisition will expand the firm’s national presence with new offices in Jackson, Wyoming, and Boston; add 11 talented new staff members to its roster; and further entrench its dominance in the growing outdoor enthusiast and environmental and sustainability segments. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Carson Stanwood, president of Stanwood & Partners, will be principal and chair of Carmichael Lynch Spong’s environmental and sustainability practice, and he will oversee the firm’s many outdoor enthusiast brands. Stanwood becomes a key leader in the nation’s top 20 largest public relations firm, providing clients access to brand marketing, media relations, corporate communications, creative services and social media. Stanwood employees also will benefit from Carmichael Lynch Spong’s award-winning professional development program and will have the opportunity to expand into other practice and specialty groups.

“Carson has a lot of fuel left in the tank in terms of his career, having successfully grown his firm over the last 16 years,” says Douglas K. Spong, APR, president of Carmichael Lynch Spong. “In many ways, his career track parallels ours in building a solid reputation with some of the best-known brands in the outdoor and leisure industry, and attracting a ‘best of the best’ talent base. We’re excited to have the Stanwood & Partners staff join our team.”

Carmichael Lynch Spong has a strong heritage in outdoor enthusiast brands. The firm’s oldest client, Rapala, kicked off the firm’s outdoor and leisure practice 17 years ago. Currently, the outdoor and leisure group includes clients ASV, BRP Evinrude, Buell, FLW Outdoors and Harley-Davidson. Stanwood & Partners currently represents 21 category-leading clients in downhill skiing, snowboarding, biking, camping, outdoor apparel, kayaking and canoeing.

Headquartered in Jackson, Wyoming, Stanwood & Partners also has an office in Boston, giving Carmichael Lynch Spong another presence in a top-tier market where some of its clients are based, including Dunkin’ Brands and Hasbro’s Games Division. Minneapolis-based Carmichael Lynch Spong currently has offices in New York, Denver and San Francisco.

In addition to growing its outdoor enthusiast segment, the acquisition also provides Carmichael Lynch Spong with a catalyst to grow its thriving environmental and sustainability practice by drawing on expertise from both firms and offering clients more ways to effectively communicate their environmental efforts and programs. Clients currently served by this specialty group include TransFair USA, the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States; Sherwin Williams, one of the world’s leading coatings manufacturers and distributors; American Standard, the world’s leading producer of bathroom and kitchen faucets and fixtures; Maytag and Amana brands, America’s favorite and most dependable producers of kitchen, laundry and whole-home appliance collections; and Lutron, the leading manufacturer of lighting controls worldwide.

About Carmichael Lynch Spong
Carmichael Lynch Spong is one of the most decorated public relations firms in the world. It is the 2004 and 2005 recipient of “Midsize Agency of the Year” by national trade journals the Holmes Report and PR Week, respectively. The firm represents a select portfolio of blue-chip clients. Carmichael Lynch Spong is a division of Carmichael Lynch Inc., which is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG), New York. Visit www.carmichaellynchspong.com for more information.