Former BWR Publicists Launch New Company Called the Initiative Group

Marc Malkin
·2 min read

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There’s a new publicity firm in town.

A group of former BWR senior publicists has launched The Initiative Group, with offices in Los Angeles and New York. The partners include Cindy Guagenti, Paulette Kam, Gary Mantoosh, Christina Papadopoulos, Lisa Perkins, Jamie Skinner and Alex Spieller.

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Initiative’s roster of longtime clients and emerging talent includes Connie Britton, Drew Carey, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Regina Hall, Garrett Hedlund, Danai Gurira, Anna Kendrick, Matt LeBlanc, Allen Leech, Melissa Leo, Mario Lopez, Joe Manganiello, Tatiana Maslany, Evan Mock, Kathryn Newton, Adam Rodriguez, MJ Rodriguez, Glen Powell, Zoe Saldana, Adam Sandler, Alexandra Shipp and Bellamy Young.

On the corporate side, Initiative represents Beaches and Sandals Resorts, Gelson’s Markets, USA Cycling, Pair of Thieves and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

“We see an exciting future for The Initiative Group,” the partners said in a statement. “We are a combination of young visionaries and veteran public relations professionals. Some of us began this journey with the original BWR founders Paul Baker, Larry Winokur and the late Nanci Ryder and will always be profoundly grateful to them for showing us the way.”

Initiative’s portfolio will also include special event services and brand/influencer collaborations as well as a “digital arm focused on social media risk assessment diagnostics and reputation management.”

BWR was started in 1987, but parent company BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe) announced last month that is was dissolving the legendary firm. The company’s roster has changed in recent years as former publicists left to form several competitors, including Scenario PR, Imprint PR and Vision PR.

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