WPP is merging its two largest PR agencies, Hill & Knowlton and BCW, to form Burson.

The move comes a mere few months after WPP created what it claimed was the world’s largest creative company, merging Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to form VML. The newly merged company will become a full-service communications agency focused on building and protecting reputation.

Burson, which is named after PR pioneer Harold Burson, will be operational beginning  July 1, and its new brand will be unveiled later this year.

“Hill & Knowlton and BCW are two high-performing businesses with complementary strengths, shared ambitions and many shared clients. I am delighted to see the Burson brand brought back to unite them,” says WPP CEO Mark Read, who adds that the new shop will be the “standard-bearer as the most modern, strategic, technology-driven, full-service communications offer in the industry.”

BCW’s global CEO Corey duBrowa is now Burson’s global CEO. AnnaMaria DeSalva, currently global chairman and CEO of Hill & Knowlton, has been named Burson’s global chairman.

“The combination of Hill & Knowlton and BCW is highly synergistic, creating a premier partner for business leaders who are focused on commercial growth, risk management and reputational capital,” DeSalva says.

Burson will draw on both organizations’ talent base, global networks, investments in technology, creative capabilities, and public affairs and advisory specialties. The newly formed entity will have more than 6,000 employees in 43 markets worldwide. BCW boasts a global client roster that includes Colgate-Palmolive, Irish Spring, London Pride and AstraZeneca in Brazil.

Appointments will be announced throughout 2024 as the integration progresses.

Hill & Knowlton will operate within Burson serving a select group of clients globally through strategic communications, advisory and public affairs services. In Canada, Hill & Knowlton has worked with such clients as IKEA, Adidas, Sinai Health and Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.

Meanwhile, GCI Health and AxiCom, which last fall was named Samsung Network’s AOR for North America, will continue to operate as brands within Burson, offering specialized healthcare and tech communications expertise, respectively, at scale. Domestically, BCW is represented by GCI Canada, which counts among its clients, Chipotle.

WPP owns creative agencies including Ogilvy, Grey and Taxi, and PR shop, Cohn & Wolfe.