BerlinRosen makes majority investment in M18 PR
The investment, made with O2 Investment Partners, expands BerlinRosen’s travel, real estate and hospitality business.
by Jess Ruderman for PR Week, April 26, 2023
NEW YORK: BerlinRosen Holdings and O2 Investment Partners have made a majority investment in communications agency M18 PR, effective earlier this month.
M18 PR, which specializes in the real estate, hospitality and design sectors, will retain its brand. It will remain independent under its existing leadership, operating out of New York, Miami and Los Angeles. CEO and cofounder Michael Tavani will continue to run the firm, with a team of partners. He is also joining BerlinRosen’s holding company as a partner.
“A core part of our thesis and investing in M18 is that for super bespoke, high end, well designed hotels and hotel properties, they are the go to consultancy,” BerlinRosen principal and cofounder Jonathan Rosen said. “Together, we’re able to service projects from conception to completion across every sector and in every city and that’s both the real estate itself, architecture, travel, lifestyle and hospitality.”
The investment in M18 is expected to fuel the company’s national growth, broaden its service offering, and create a 360-degree approach to meet the evolving needs of the industries in which it specializes, BerlinRosen said in a statement.
The partnership complements BerlinRosen’s real estate, architecture, travel, lifestyle and hospitality practices, working with industry leaders in each sector on projects across the country and world. The agency currently represents travel and hospitality clients including Bermuda Tourism Authority, Singapore Airlines, Lark Hotels, RVshare, Aspen Hospitality Limelight Hotels and Boston Seaport; and its real estate clients include developers behind buildings such as the World Trade Center and One Vanderbilt, such as SL Green, Silverstein Properties and Brookfield, among others.
The investment will provide M18 PR with immediate access to BerlinRosen’s expanded resources and talent network, including public affairs, crisis management, digital marketing, advertising, content studio and influencer marketing.
M18 PR’s clients will not be impacted and no layoffs will occur. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
The addition of M18 PR’s staff of over 40, including partners, and BerlinRosen’s 70 travel, real estate and hospitality employees will contribute to the agency’s team of over 400 strategists across the United States and Europe, as well its partner agencies.
“While we operate in a similar space and will maintain our independence and leadership teams, we view [BerlinRosen’s] areas of expertise as complementary to ours,” Tavani said.
“Together, we believe that we’ve created the most formidable communications offering in the real estate and hospitality sectors.”
M18 PR is actively working on projects in New York City, South Florida, Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Nashville, London and Mexico, among other markets. The partnership will continue to grow the reach of both firms as countries lift their COVID-era travel restrictions.
“One of the things we saw since the pandemic and one of the things we have high conviction around is that travel has gone from discretionary to essential for most people,” Rosen said. “People are changing how they work and where they work, and we’re seeing blended leisure and work trips. We’re seeing people wanting experience more than things coming out of COVID.”
The investment comes on the heels of several major investments for BerlinRosen, including brand consultancy and communications firm Derris, strategic comms and public affairs agency Glen Echo Group, the acquisition of consulting shop Onward, and the expansion of its European footprint with a new joint office with Glen Echo in Amsterdam.
M18 was founded in 2010 and has overseen the development and execution of communications campaigns for more than 200 real estate and hospitality ventures, representing clients in more than 40 cities domestically and internationally.
BerlinRosen was named PRWeek’s 2023 Outstanding Large Agency of the Year.