• by Wayne Friedman , June 16, 2009

Looking to rival the clout of bigger public relations shops, Omnicom Group is merging its big Ketchum unit with Pleon, its European PR company.

The combined consultancy -- to be called Ketchum, except in the U.K. and Europe, where it will carry the Ketchum Pleon moniker -- will have more than 2,000 employees, with 103 owned and affiliated offices worldwide in 66 countries.

Raymond L. Kotcher, senior partner and CEO, Ketchum, will run the group under the same title. Pleon senior executive Timo Sieg, who had the title of chairman and CEO of Pleon, will become senior partner and CEO of Europe, Ketchum Pleon.

The two units' strengths would seem to merge well -- with Ketchum's strong consumer and tech-company PR work and Pleon's strength in corporate communications and local corporate efforts.

The merger will boost Ketchum into the half-billion range of billings, according to reports, rivaling the groups such as Interpublic Group of Cos.' Weber Shandwick, Omnicom's other PR group Fleishman-Hillard, and WPP Group's Burson-Marsteller.

Five years ago, Pleon was formed from the merger of two companies within the Omnicom group: ECC Kohtes Klewes and Brodeur Worldwide.

Global headquarters for Ketchum will be in New York, with its European headquarters in Dusseldorf, Germany.