Zoetica Media

  • Home
  • Services
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Acquisitions a Sign That Social Media is Maturing, Livingston and CRT/tanaka

April 9, 2009 by Kami Huyse

Share this:
Twitter0
Facebook0
Google+0
LinkedIn0

 

Social media is starting to mature. There is no better sign of this than when firms start to acquire talent. There is rumblings of this all around the social media and communications firms.

 

Connie Reece's company, Every Dot Connects, was recently acquired by New Media Lab in Austin.  On the heels of that announcement comes the news today that Livingston Communications, owned by Geoff Livingston, the author of the popular Buzz Bin blog, was acquired by CRT/tanaka. Geoff will remain on as a senior vice president. Geoff is also the author of “Now is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs.”

 

Last year, Livingston Communications nearly merged with the Social Media Group, but that deal fell through. In the way of full disclosure, I do have a connection with Geoff Livingston and Livingston Communication as a contractor.

 

I asked Geoff to answer some questions that I think people will have, Here were his frank answers:

 

SXSW All Hat, No Cattle: Geoff LivingstonQuestion: When you talked about merger with SMG you really hit on the idea of a purist social media practice, CRT/tanaka takes an integrated approach? What gives? Which one do you advocate?

Geoff: I think people said that was a purist approach, but if you look at this post you will see au contraire: We never said it was stand alone, and that ultimately social media must be integrated.  The CRT/tanaka acquisition simply accelerates that move for me.

 

Question: What happens to the BuzzBin?

Geoff: It keeps going as is, authored by me, but is now owned by CRT/tanaka.  If I ever depart I will have to go re-earn my Google jujitsu.

 

Question: Will you be censored there?

Geoff: I really don’t think so.  The see the writing on the wall and want to be a top quadrant social media-capable communications firm. Our goal is not to be the social media department, it’s to push social media as a capability across the front line and execute as an agency on interactive, in PR and through advertising with the ability to intelligently engage stakeholders in meaningful two-way conversations.

 

Not everyone will be as opinionated as me, but there are already some voices inside the company who are using these tools.  We want to encourage more voices, not stifle the ones who are already out there.

 

Question: Why are you merging now?

Geoff: Because it was the right deal at the right time for me.  I don’t want to be the man, or the most popular guy on the Internet, and so having a CEO title doesn’t mean anything to me. What means something to me is becoming more available to my family, and doing great things that impact our society through clients, through openness and transparency, and through the embracing of public responsibility for our society’s issues, and the charitable efforts to resolve those problems.

 

Question: What will you be able to do with CRT/tanaka that you couldn’t do with Livingston Communications, what kind of services can you provide?

Geoff: A lot more. I feel like I went from 100 hp four cylinder engine to turbocharged V8 BMW M5.  Further, CRT/tanaka’s presence in NY and LA makes me feel like we have the three most important communications markets in the country covered.  We have access to major consumer experiences now, and as a nimble mid-size company, I feel like we can compete with the Edelmans and Ogilvys of the world.

 

Question: Will Livingston Communication be a subsidiary or will you become CRT/tanaka?

Geoff: Livingston is gone.  We are CRT/tanaka.

 

You can also read Geoff's take on the acquisition at the Buzz Bin.

 

Photo by the inimitable Beth Harte at the SxSW All Hat…No Cattle party

Filed Under: Community Building, Industry Trends

About Kami Huyse

Kami Watson Huyse, CEO of Zoetica, is passionate about great communication. Working in Public Relations since 1994, and blogging since 2005, she has seen trends come and go, but one thing has stayed the same – people are looking for ways to authentically connect. She loves to connect with readers, so leave a comment or follow @kamichat on Twitter and connect there.

Subscribe to get the newsletter and premiums

Enter your email to subscribe:

  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Zoetica

Zoetica Swish SmallWelcome to Zoetica! We are an experienced team of communicators led by Kami Huyse who are dedicated to teaching you how to bring your communication to life with sound strategy, community building and solid success measures. Check out our blog, Zoetica Talks, browse our Resources, and check out our Sevices.We can't wait to get to know you better.

Recent Posts

  • Which Social Media Platforms to Use for Business in 2023
  • Creative Professionals, Get Ready for the Artificial Intelligence Takeover
  • The 5 Social Media Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2023
  • The 5-Part Visibility Plan That Will Help Promote and Grow Your Business
  • Are You Ready for AI in Creative Work?

Zoetica in the News

5 Tools to Measure (and Manage) Reputation in Complex Environment PR News Byline

2014 trends for public relations, marketing and social media | Business | Kentucky.com (mobile mention) 

Digital PR & Social Media Guidebook – Contributing Author

How Communicators Can Get Started with PR Measurement, PR News Mention

Proving PR’s Value in the Age of ROI—How to Tie Results to Corporate Objectives | Bulldog Reporter (Speaker)

A Gnawing Crisis in PR: Measuring The ROI on Social Media Channels, PR News Byline

Named as one of AGBeat's top 50 industry influencers in 2014

Will Houston B2B companies answer the social media call? - Houston Business Journal

Social Media Measurement Twitter Chat: Evaluating Impact of Social Media on Foundation Outcomes (with tweets) · RWJF (Moderator)

Top 100 Social Media Power Influencers in Houston 2013

Named as one of 30 PR Experts You Should Follow on Twitter by e-releases

BusinessWire Congrats for Making the Top 100 Women on Twitter

Posts by Topic

Zoetica Talks

 

#SMBHOU

Influencer Outreach

Best Ranked

Measurement

Book Shelf

Nonprofit and CSR

Community

Online Ethics

CoolTools

Social Media Tactics

Crisis

Guidelines

How To

Social Networks

Humor

Speaking

Trends

Strategy

Latest Tweets

Tweets by @kamichat
© Zoetica, LLC | Disclaimer | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 - Zoetica Media · designed/developed by Petersen Media Group