Australian communications group Bastion Collective, which is reported to be the largest privately owned marketing and communications group in its home country, plans an aggressive acquisition strategy to build its presence in the U.S.
Orange County will lead that expansion push here, executives said.
The independent marketing agency said it plans to grow its business here by investing 20% of its projected 2019 revenue of $55 million—roughly $11 million—towards acquisitions and organic growth.
The dealmaking comes on top of a busy 2018 when the company began to ramp up its fledgling U.S. operations, which are based in Irvine.
“We started with me [two] years ago, and now we have 14 [employees],” said Dax Cornelius, chief executive of Bastion’s U.S. division.
“Orange County was really that great epicenter for us to grow from and to create and attract talent.”
Cornelius, a former U.S. Air Force pilot with a family connection to Bastion’s founders, joined the company in October 2017.
The firm set up shop at the Irvine coworking space of Industrious, about a mile from John Wayne Airport.
He’s already overseen a few notable acquisitions.
The marketing firm this month disclosed that it bought a trio of Irvine-based firms in the later part of 2018: social media and public relations company LFPR, rebranded as Bastion Elevate; web design and search engine optimization firm Rare Branding; and mobile app developer Digital Brand Group, the latter two firms merged to create Bastion Rare.
Terms of the individual deals were undisclosed. The deals are part of the $11 million in acquisitions that the company plans this year, according to Bastion officials.
Cornelius said his group is now looking to acquire a research firm, an experiential marketing company, and a content firm.
Bastion’s U.S. office, much like its Australian counterpart, is fashioning itself as a more nimble version of massive marketing-focused holding groups such as Omnicom Group Inc., Publicis Groupe and Interpublic Group of Cos.
It’s a move that’s also been done by Huntington Beach-based agency Gallegos United and more recently, Irvine-based Envoy, which refashioned itself into Envoy Group in September after acquiring design studio Bulldog Drummond and experience agency Leviathan Design.
“We think we can do a better job by still giving that bespoke operator-owned agency that is going to do everything for that client but at the same time has enough of a global footprint to handle the client on a much larger scale—whether it’s a domestic campaign or a global campaign,” Cornelius said.
Down Under
Bastion was founded in 2009 by former Australian Football League player Fergus Watts. The then 23-year-old Watts wanted to create his own agency after a stint at an advertising firm following his injury-related retirement.
Ten years later, the company now has more than 240 employees globally. In addition to Irvine, it also has offices in London and China.
Services include public relations, digital marketing, reputation management, government relations and running live events. Clients include haircare line Pantene, Australian national private health insurer Medibank, boot brand Blundstone Footwear, health supplement company Blackmores and automaker Nissan Motor Co.
OC clients include Irvine-based indoor kart racing company K1 Speed, Redwood City software giant Oracle Corp., Costa Mesa-based apparel maker Volcom and Cyrex Laboratories, an advanced clinical lab based in Phoenix.
The company has a strong presence in Australia in part because of its connection to football—Australian rules football, that is—one of the country’s largest sports.
Its board includes Watts’ father, Jim, former chief executive of St. Kilda Football Club and Andrew Demetriou, a former AFL chief executive.
Watts, who serves as executive chairman, said in news reports he’s encountered marketers passionate about the services they provided, but lacked the infrastructure found at a larger company to maintain their business.
He envisioned Bastion “a company that would combine a range of complementary agencies together and support them in core business functions—sales, HR, overheads, finance—that way we could just let them be experts in their field and dominate their niche markets, while giving them the backing of a big business infrastructure.”
Growth on its home turf has mainly happened through acquisitions—Watts sold his house when he was 24 to fund his first acquisition—and it will be the strategy for its U.S. operations, according to Cornelius.
Strength in Numbers
Cornelius said his draw to the company was more than just getting to work with family, although family ties run strong at Bastion. Watts and his brother, Jack, Bastion’s Australia chief executive, are nephews of Cornelius.
It was a chance to utilize his background in sales and M&A. Cornelius previously served as chief executive of frack water heater company Torrid Technologies Group LLC. Previous stints included Piper Aircraft Inc. and Textron-owned aviation brand Cessna.
Cornelius said his plan is to use the $11 million of acquisition funding this year on companies that have the potential to double in size and revenue with Bastion’s help.
Initially, the focus will be on acquiring OC-based companies.
“This is the new mecca of marketing,” he said. “We have major conglomerates [and] brands here so it’s the right strategic point for us to invest those revenues here then [look at] Northern California and into the East Coast.”
He added that every deal would be different, but Bastion ensures the chief executive of each acquired company is recouping yearly dividends and has the opportunity to focus on growth, while Bastion takes on ancillary services like human resources and finance.
For example, LFPR founder and Chief Executive Shana Starr continues to lead the public relations arm of Bastion USA along with directors Dave Feistel and Kelly Torres.
“It keeps the CEO fully engaged because they’re still a shareholder in the business,” Cornelius said. “They’re focused on growing the business and they have more resources in the collective. All of us believe that we can take care of our clients together better than being a siloed agency.”
