Omnicom’s public relations division, Omnicom PR Group (OPRG), has acquired Arlington, VA-based political consultant FP1 Strategies and its sibling public affairs firm Plus Communications. Terms were not disclosed.  

FP1 Strategies was founded in 2011 by Danny Diaz, Jon Downs and Terry Nelson as a campaign advertising and consulting firm serving candidates for public office and public policy organizations.  

Not long after, the firm created Plus Communications and in 2012 Dave DenHerder, the former US CEO of Burson-Marsteller, joined to run the sibling unit.   

Omnicom said the transactions would accelerate growth, expand existing offerings, and further solidify OPRG ‘s position in public affairs, corporate and political consulting.  

“With our current roster of public affairs and political consulting firms including DDC, GMMB, Mercury, Portland, and Vox, OPRG is already a powerful partner to our clients and a force in the industry,” stated OPRG Global CEO Chris Foster.

“With the addition of Plus Communications and FP1 Strategies and their deep expertise in healthcare, technology and crisis communications, our ability to serve our clients on the global public affairs stage is now at a whole new level.”  

FP1 Strategies says it helped elect 12 U.S. senators, three governors, three attorneys general and 16 members of congress to office in 2020. It also expanded its “down-ballot reach, helping to defend Republican legislative majorities in Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kentucky.”  

On its LinkedIn page the firm also credits itself with winning “tough battles from expanding drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf for the first time in 23 years, to paving the way for InBev’s takeover of Anheuser-Busch and stopping the Employee Free Choice Act legislation.”  

The Plus and FP1 management teams will remain in place, and the agencies will continue to operate under their current brands.  

The M&A deal continues a relatively aggressive acquisition spree for Omnicom. It’s the fourth deal for the holding company in recent months and follows July’s acquisition of two Brazilian commerce and retail media agencies by Omnicom Media Group. Earlier that month OMG acquired Ptarmigan Media, a UK-based specialist agency that provides media and marketing solutions to financial services brands.     

Also in July Omnicom expanded its footprint in Germany with the purchase of a majority stake in Hamburg-based ad agency Grabarz & Partner.