London-based public relations outfit Next Fifteen is now the leading provider of technology PR in the United States.
Delivering strong organic growth augmented by clever acquisitions might be the ambition of any competent chief executive in any given year. Those with a more zealous approach to progress might also try to simultaneously expand the product offering and land record sales and profits. However, Next Fifteen’s chief executive Tim Dyson not only achieved all of the above, but also made his company the market-leading technology PR outfit in the US.
He reached the latter milestone by purchasing OutCast Communications, a firm based in San Francisco and New York, during the summer. The deal, part-funded by a £2.5 million fundraising, added the likes of Yahoo! and Dell to Next Fifteen’s client roster that already included such global luminaries as IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Apple.
‘Our purchase of an initial 25 per cent stake of Lexis in the UK is equally important though,’ says Dyson, ‘as it takes us further into the consumer market, helping us build relationships with Diageo, Barclays and Coca-Cola. And of course, our presence in the Asia Pacific growth markets allows us to deliver a truly global service to our clients.’
All the activity on the acquisition front means Next Fifteen now boasts 37 offices in 18 countries worldwide and represents 14 of the leading 25 technology brands.
This is unlikely to mean a quiet time ahead for Dyson, who says ‘our goal is to increase revenues by 50 per cent in the next 24 months.’
