Greg Propper‘s Propper Daley has been acquired by strategic communications and public affairs firm Bully Pulpit International.
Propper Daley will transition to the BPI brand immediately, and 25 staffers will integrate into BPI’s U.S. organizational structure. Propper Daley’s noted entertainment philanthropy practice, however, will continue to operate as Propper Daley BPI, and the division joins recent acquisitions BOLDT BPI, Message House BPI, and Seven Hills BPI as part of the umbrella group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Propper Daley — a culture-first social impact agency that collaborates with brands, philanthropies, advocacy organizations and individuals to drive change — has roots in Los Angeles and Miami, leading BPI to expand in those key markets. BPI’s transatlantic team includes over 350 communications, creative, measurement and media professionals across six countries and 14 offices.
“An effective campaign combines the best of communications and marketing with the power of influence, partnerships, and creators of culture, which is exactly what Propper Daley brings to the table. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the team,” said BPI president Andrew Bleeker in a statement.
Propper, president of the firm, which was founded in 2012, added: “Creating real change in today’s complex world requires blending strategic rigor with creative and cultural influence, the right brain with the left. Yet, the solutions often remain too siloed. With BPI, we’re excited to be able to offer an approach that combines all of those pieces into seamless, measurable offerings that reflect how change actually happens.”
Members of Propper Daley and BPI gather for a photo. Pictured top, left to right: Liz Walsh, Lachy Roach, Szena Dayo, Katie Grossbard, Nora Gilbert, Catherine Sun, Ashley Amador, Leia Mayberry, Deborah Herman and Kyle Esptein. Bottom, left to right: Bradley Akubuiro, Rebecca Shafer, Greg Propper, Quinlan Fitzgerald, Andrew Bleeker and Shawna Jackson.
Photo Credit: Kim Fox Photography
In interviews, Propper and Bleeker said the deal makes sense for both sides, especially at this moment in time amid dramatic shifts in culture, politics, media, modern public affairs and beyond. BPI’s specialties, which include in-house measurement, creative and paid media, will enable Propper Daley to scale its strategy and programs while BPI’s work will be enhanced by Propper Daley’s culture-driven strategies, partnerships and network of boldfaced names, influencers and change agents.
Propper Daley’s select client list has included Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s The Clinton Foundation, the Call of Duty Endowment, Viacom, the Shawn Mendes Foundation, Everytown for Gun Safety, Planned Parenthood, Conservation Lands Foundation, Best Buy, Interscope, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Madonna’s Raising Malawi, Chrissy Teigen, Biden for President, Hilton Hotels, John Legend, SoulCycle, the Walt Disney Company, Youth Villages, Bradley Cooper, Babylist, Steven Tyler’s Janie’s Fund and many more.
“Our space is very similar to Greg’s, from a different lens,” Bleeker explained, noting that his firm hails from the trenches of politics and public policy. “We’ve known of Greg and his team for a long time and gotten to collaboration here and there. We love what they’re doing and we want them to have tools to do more. We’re also eager to bring their skill set and cultural influence to our clients.”
Bleeker added that the acquisition will help Bully Pulpit offer clients a streamlined team and integrated campaigns. “Clients don’t want to manage eight different agencies in order to run an effective campaign. … This will allow us to move with speed. We’re trying to build a one-stop campaign team.”
And a team that’s built with experts across all the fields that matter, from politics and policy to culture and influence. “There’s one thing that’s super clear and that is change. Traditional politics is broken. The traditional media ecosystem is broken. We won’t get anywhere with relying on the same tactics. Everyone is coming to that conclusion from different vantage points, and the solution is not to throw the baby out with the bathwater but to combine the best of traditional marketing, campaigns and communications strategies with where the culture is going.”
Propper agreed. “Culture is changing so fast,” he said. “Culture, by definition, is the lever that shifts attitudes and behaviors most effectively. Whether it’s a foundation or a brand, you can have the best strategy in the world and put out the best press releases, and put on great programs and events, but if you can’t sift attitudes or behaviors, things don’t stick.”
Propper said his staff has been “heads down doing the work” for 13 years, and given what’s happening in the world, their work can continue to meet the moment “but it’s hard to fully scale when you’re a small agency. We want to do more.” The acquisition by BPI gives them that chance, and it proved to be the perfect match of a partner. “We talked to other folks in the past,” he said. “They feel like we are doing something that they don’t currently do that can be additive to their work. We can continue to serve our clients in the way that we do and sprinkle our work into theirs while leveraging their expertise and tools for our clients. It’s a chance to combine their superpowers and offer that in a really integrated way.”
One thing that won’t change? Propper Daley’s invite-only A Day of Unreasonable Conversation will stay on the schedule as an annual gathering of thought leaders and entertainment industry insiders.
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