It is my pleasure to be able to share some very exciting news with you – Social Media Group has signed a letter of intent to purchase Washington, DC-based Livingston Communications, one of the world’s most highly respected social PR firms.

Former CEO Geoff Livingston, author of Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs, will continue to head the DC office, joining our global team as Executive Vice President, Americas. Geoff’s primary areas of responsibility will be North American business development and strategy. You can read his post about our deal here. I am thrilled to get the chance to work closely with Geoff – there’s a reason he’s one of the industry’s most highly-respected thought leaders, and we are going to make a killer team.

We also welcome Geoff’s fabulous staff – a group of talented communications professionals who will round out our already stellar lineup (can you say Social Media All-Stars?).

The acquisition is expected to be formally completed by the end of August, and will bring our collective staff to 20, making us the world’s largest independent social media marketing and communications firm. Though our collective client list is already impressive (Ford, SAP, Network Solutions, Yamaha, Harlequin Publishing…) we now have the bandwidth and complete service offerings to happily go toe-to-toe with any traditional agency’s so-called “social media practice”. Our clients have told us again and again that they want specialized expertise in this space, and we look forward to continuing to help companies in the Global 2000 understand how social media is transforming the way they do business, without having to shoehorn that experience into a traditional agency model.

SMG will also acquire the internationally recognized Buzz Bin blog and the BlogPotomac conference as part of the deal, which is for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock.

Please join me in welcoming Geoff and his team to SMG – exciting times ahead for all of us!

Photo credit: Eli Singer

32 Comments

  1. wow – congrats to all!!!! Great coming together of like-minded leaders!

  2. Indeed. I look forward to your path ahead. I think it was a great win for you Maggie.

  3. Sincerest congratulations to the entire SMG team! Well done @maggiefox 🙂

  4. Fabulous news. All the best to the ever-growing SMG!

  5. Congratulations!

    Seems like a promising move. I’ll follow with interest what comes from this fusion. I’m sure you have great things ahead.

  6. Fantastic news, Maggie. Very excited for you!

  7. Congratulations Maggie! Have great success in the future!

  8. You both rock the world, and now you can rock it 2gether. I love it when my friends merge!! 🙂

    Great job, and btw – love the picture succession on the blog posts. super funny!

    All the best,
    Stephanie

  9. Well done Maggie. How are you getting on with the UK market?

    Best regards
    Manoj

  10. Congratulations, Maggie. I wish SMG and Livingston Communications all the best with these changes.

    Cheers,
    Connie

  11. Congratulations to Maggie and everybody at SMG. When will you have a branch in the Los Angeles area that I can join? 🙂

  12. Excuse me, but did either of you get permission to take photographs on Ford property?? I’m going to have to confiscate all of your hi-tech gadgetry the next time you’re at World Headquarters. 😉

    In all seriousness, you know how thrilled I am for you. This is a great shot in the arm for social media consultants everywhere, to know that two individual powerhouses are joining forces. And personally, I’m thankful that I get to work with *both* of you now.

  13. gail moody-byrd

    congratulations maggie!

  14. Sam Sova

    Congrats Maggie!

  15. Congrats to both of you! Can’t wait to see what new ideas and products you develop together.

  16. I guess SMG won’t refer to the agencies as “the others” anymore 🙂 You are one! Congrats on expanding. This is more good news for the entire industry.

  17. Lisa Walker

    Congrats Maggie – great partnership.

  18. Congrats to both of you! Very exciting news =)

  19. World domination begins… Congrats Maggie. Maybe Geoff can do take over some of your too-frequent flyer miles…

  20. Congratulations to my friend Geoff and also to Maggie (everybody says she’s awesome!)

  21. It’s good to see the North Americans working more closely together; after all, social media is known for crossing borders. (We should know-we often pick up Quebec buzz when we monitor and measure blogs and forums in French). Congratulations to the SMG team, new members included!

  22. Brilliant! Look forward to reading more about the results of this exciting new partnership. All the best.

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