Rebranding reflects an enhanced suite of digital and creative services and a focus on delivering integrated strategic communications programs.

R&J Public Relations, a full service public relations agency, announced today that it has expanded its service offering and capabilities by acquiring Fifth Room Creative, an award-winning boutique branding and web design firm previously located in Denville, N.J. The acquisition of Fifth Room Creative will enhance R&J’s already strong digital marketing practice, while adding a greater scope of creative design services to support the agency’s integrated strategic focus in serving client communications needs. Following the acquisition the agency has rebranded itself as R&J Strategic Communications.

“We’re refreshing the brand so that it better represents what we’ve become, a full service strategic communications firm, able to fulfill the diverse needs of our growing client base” said Scott Marioni, Executive Vice President of R&J Strategic Communications. “As PR and communications continue to rapidly evolve, we are focused on embracing and mastering a broader array of communication disciplines and becoming wholly strategic in approach and execution.”

R&J will draw from a comprehensive suite of public relations, digital and creative services to deliver integrated programs that foster business growth for its clients. The agency’s distinctly consultative approach results in comprehensive strategies that take advantage of both traditional and digital communication channels to promote business success and make a difference in their clients’ businesses.

“Now more than ever, clients expect to see measurable results that increase their bottom line,” said John Lonsdorf, President of R&J Strategic Communications. “We now have a greater number of tools at our disposal to exceed those expectations with programs built around expanded and more robust areas of expertise.”

The acquisition of Fifth Room Creative adds considerable design and creative capabilities to R&J Strategic Communications, enabling the firm to provide clients with high-end creative services such as logo and brand development, web design and development, graphic design, advertising, interactive design and email marketing. The added creative services capabilities will be highly complementary to the agency’s established digital services group, offering clients inventive online strategies leveraging a multitude of social and digital platforms to address client goals.

These new digital and creative service capabilities are expected to enhance the agency’s unique focus on creating cross-media strategies for clients. This integrated approach will help brands articulate cogent, cohesive messages across multiple channels including traditional, digital, and event-based approaches. These comprehensive communication programs will be designed to help clients more effectively reach key demographics and elicit higher levels of engagement.

“The essence of our brand has always been to provide exceptional service to our clients and to boost their brand equity,” Lonsdorf said. “With the recent expansion of our digital department and the addition of Fifth Room Creative, we have greatly enhanced our content creation and delivery capabilities, allowing us to better communicate clear, concise and impactful messages for our clients, regardless of what media platform we’re using.”

Steve Guberman, Principal and Creative Director of Fifth Room Creative, will serve as Vice President of Creative and Digital Services at the agency, and will lead the design team in developing branding campaigns and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries. Guberman has more than a decade of expertise in building brands and digital experiences and is a perfect fit for the agency’s new fully integrated capabilities. He was recently honored as one of NJ’s Best MarCom Professionals Under 40 by the New Jersey Ad Club and Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association and is an NJBiz 40 Under 40 honoree.

“Social, digital and mobile capabilities have gone from being a portion of a communications programs to, in many cases, becoming the lead, so incorporating imaginative graphic and digital features is necessary to create successful campaigns,” said Guberman. “When companies outsource these services, they run the risk of inconsistent brand messaging. I’m really excited to be part of the R&J team and to be creating effective integrated communication programs that support client’s needs.”

About R&J Strategic Communications
R&J Strategic Communications is a full-service firm that consistently achieves superior results for a strong and diverse client base that ranges from divisions of large, multi-national conglomerates to regional market leaders. Based in Bridgewater, N.J., with an office in Manhattan, the company has become one of the most respected, admired and prestigious strategic communications agencies in the Greater New York/New Jersey region. R&J has earned numerous awards for its strategic communications programs and was named a “Top Place to Work in PR” by PR News, and has been named among the “Best Places to Work in New Jersey” for three years running by NJBIZ Magazine. For more information on R&J Strategic Communications, please visit www.randjsc.com.