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Neathawk Dubuque of Richmond joins Roanoke |  |
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May 4, 2004 Contact Bob Rayner Times-Dispatch Staff Writer brayner@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6073 East is East and West is West, but occasionally the twain shall meet. A Richmond advertising agency is stretching its reach westward - into the Shenandoah Valley. Neathawk Dubuque announced yesterday that it has merged with The Packett Group in Roanoke. Now known as Neathawk Dubuque & Packett, the agency will continue to operate an office here, on East Cary Street, and one in Roanoke. "This merger capitalizes on our individual strengths and increases our ability to become an advertising force throughout the entire state," said Roger Neathawk, the expanded agency's chairman and chief executive, the same position he held with the Richmond firm. "With the merger, our agency grew 137 miles. That's quite a wingspan." Neathawk Dubuque opened a one-man office in Roanoke last year to help drum up business in the western part of the state, as well as in Tennessee and North Carolina. That put the agency in contact with The Packett Group, which eventually led to yesterday's merger. Todd Foutz, who headed Packett, is executive vice president of the merged firm and will continue to run the Roanoke office. Susan Dubuque, president of the Richmond agency, holds the same job in the bigger agency. Pete Roberts, in Roanoke, will be the firm's vice president. Neathawk Dubuque & Packett will have 23 employees, with 15 in Richmond and eight in Roanoke. No jobs will be eliminated because of the merger. The agency posts annual billings of $24.5 million: $17 million from the Richmond office and $7.5 million from Roanoke. "Our increased capabilities allow us to provide more extensive service to our clients, with a bigger staff, more creative synergy and, as they say in basketball, a deeper bench," Neathawk said. The merger created no account conflicts, he added. The Richmond agency's clients include Performance Food Group, Meals on Wheels of Greater Richmond, the Virginia State Police, and MedStar Health's Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital. The Roanoke firm's roster includes the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Shenandoah Battlefields Foundation and National Historic District, the Winchester-Frederick County Visitors and Convention Bureau, Fink's Jewelers, ITT Industries Night Vision and the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership. Neathawk Dubuque was founded in 1984 by Neathawk, Dubuque and Chuck Miller. Until 2000, it was known as Marketing Strategies Inc. The Packett Group was founded in 1963 by Howard Packett, who is retired. It was originally called Brand Edmonds Packett. |