(tba), ND&P Merge To Form Big Agency

Thomas Becher

Neathawk Dubuque & Packett (ND&P), a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations agency, today announced plans to acquire The Becher Agency (tba), creating one of the largest firms in the Roanoke Valley.

“We are delighted to grow our locally managed office with the acquisition of a well-respected and well-connected agency with particularly strong capabilities and award-winning results in public relations,” said Todd Foutz, executive vice president of ND&P.

“Our combined staffs,comprising some of the most talented and recognized advertising professionals in the region, will provide clients with unprecedented expertise in creative services, online interaction, social media, public relations and other communications that help businesses and organizations succeed.”

Thomas Becher, owner and president of The Becher Agency, will join ND&P as senior vice president, leading the combined company’s public relations and crisis communications practices. “We'll have seven full-time staff, including me, Chris Turnbull, Ariel Clark and Chris McAdams joining ND&P,” says Becher.

“One position was duplicate.” One of the primary reasons for the merger is simple, says Becher: “I'd like to spend more time with my children and being a business owner has made that increasingly difficult.”

“We look forward to bringing our expertise to a larger team of professional communicators to better serve a variety of organizations,” Becher says. “Both firms share a great deal of respect for each other, and we have previously worked together to provide outstanding service to mutual clients. We look forward to continuing to provide local, strategy-based creative solutions to a variety of clients in our region and beyond.”

The Becher Agency has offices at Warehouse Row, 119 Norfolk Ave., in downtown Roanoke and the Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg. Upon the transaction, Becher Agency employees will move into ND&P’s office at 410 S. Jefferson St. The combined company will retain the Blacksburg office to serve clients in the New River Valley.

Once the acquisition closes, ND&P will have 54 employees in Roanoke, Richmond, Chattanooga, Tenn., Charlotte and Durham, N.C., and Tampa, Fla. The combined entity will total 17 full-time positions in Roanoke office. The transaction is scheduled to be effective Sept. 1. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Foot Levelers New Marathon Sponsor

Organizers of the Blue Ridge Marathon have announced that Roanoke-based Foot Levelers has signed on as the new title sponsor for the event. The race, with more elevation change than any other on-road marathon in the United States, will be known as the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon through at least 2015.

“We are looking forward to our new partnership with Foot Levelers,” says marathon chairman Pete Eshelman.  “Foot Levelers already has great connections in the running world by virtue of its products.  We expect to be able to use those connections to take the message of the Roanoke event farther than we have in the past.”

"We are so excited to be the title sponsor of America's Toughest Road Marathon," says Kent Greenawalt, CEO of Foot Levelers.  "Foot Levelers has a lot of activities planned to create awareness about the race nationally and focus on the runners' overall health.  Runners know the importance of taking care of their bodies from the ground up and we plan to motivate and help all participants perform at their maximum ability as they run over the Blue Ridge mountains."

New Partnership for Save-a-Ton

Save-a-Ton, the regional energy conservation education and awareness program has announced a new partnership program to provide a platform for local businesses and service providers working in the area of energy efficiency and conservation to connect to Save-a-Ton’s growing audience.

“One of the main goals of Save-a-Ton is to support the market for energy-related products and services here in the greater Roanoke region,” says Jeremy Holmes, Director of Save-a-Ton and Coordinator of Sustainability Programs for the Regional Commission. “We want to provide information and education for citizens of the region, but more importantly, we want to connect them to the businesses and nonprofits that can help them take action and start saving money immediately.”

The partnership program is free and allows qualified businesses and non-profits to be promoted through Save-a-Ton’s website, social media presence, and events. In return, partners are asked to share information about Save-a-Ton with their customers to help build awareness of the program.

Save-a-Ton’s recently launched online money savings calculator will help point users to actions that will give them the most impact, and then to products and services that can get them those savings.  “Our thinking is, if you’re researching compact fluorescent light bulbs to cut your electric bill, you might also be interested in cutting your gas bill, or water bill, or might be in the market for a new refrigerator once you see what the savings can add up to,” says Holmes.

“Save-a-Ton provides a lot of information on a range of energy-related issues, and as citizens become more educated we want them to know which businesses in valley can assist them.  We hope our efforts will grow the market for these kinds of businesses in the future.”

To become a partner, organizations just have to show how their businesses or service can reduce energy consumption.  Interested groups can complete an application online at saveaton.org/partner.asp.