Milwaukee-based Punch PR has been acquired by Trozzolo Communications Group, a full-service communications agency based in Kansas City, Missouri.
Under the deal, which closed June 1, Punch will maintain its employee base and brand name, operating now as Punch, A Trozzolo Company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition expands Trozzolo's existing presence in the Milwaukee community. The company opened an office here in 2022 -- as part of a partnership with Marquette University's communications school -- and went on to establish a local client list that currently includes Central Standard Craft Distillery, Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., United States Navy and Marquette.
Punch is led by partners Lauren Grimm, who founded the firm in 2009, and Dave Racine, who joined in 2016. The firm has eight full-time employees and has worked with clients throughout Milwaukee and the upper Midwest, including Generac, KEEN Utility Footwear, Fromm Family Pet Food, Royal Enfield Motorcycles, Ruffwear, American Camp Association, and Regal Ware.
Grimm and Racine will maintain their leadership roles as managing directors of Trozzolo’s Milwaukee office.
"What’s most meaningful to us is that every one of our team members has come under the Trozzolo umbrella as well," Racine told BizTimes. "We’re achieving a continuity of leadership and a continuation of the culture we’ve built, now with a bigger engine behind it."
“Punch PR is thrilled to join Trozzolo and have the strategic opportunity to expand our client
services platform," Grimm said in a statement. "We have a perfect alignment in our unique approach to PR and marketing work along with an unwavering commitment to a family-oriented culture."
Punch and Trozzolo currently have separate offices in downtown Milwaukee, and consolidation plans are in the works. Racine said the two companies are "currently plotting the best way to bring everyone under one roof without sacrificing coffee quality, neighborhood vibes, or window views."
Trozzolo was founded in 1989 by Pasquale Trozzolo and his now led by his son, Angelo Trozzolo. The firm has more than 90 employees, including 11 associates in Milwaukee, contributing approximately 15% of overall revenue, according to a news release.
“In any acquisition, it’s about people and cultural fit first and foremost," said Angelo Trozzolo, president and CEO of Trozzolo Communications Group. “In our very first meeting with Lauren (Grimm) and Dave (Racine), it was clear we share the same philosophies of how to treat people and how we approach work to solve our clients’ business problems, and a mindset of where our industry is heading and what it will take to thrive in the future.”
An alum of Marquette University, Angelo Trozzolo in 2022 partnered with the Diederich College of Communication to launch Carl Collective, a full-service marketing and PR agency where students can gain real-world experience working alongside professionals on projects for actual clients. The initiative is named after Carl Schrank, a longtime professor and student adviser at Marquette who died 2019.
The acquisition of Punch follows a handful of other strategic acquisitions Trozzolo has made over the past two decades, including Blades & Associates in 2003, Prairie Dog and Corporate Communications Group in 2008, Kuhn & Wittenborn Advertising in 2015 and Proventus Consulting in 2017. The Trozzolo family of brands has more than 100 clients in various industries across the country.
“Milwaukee is very similar to Kansas City in terms of industries, business climate and genuinely good people; we know there is a tremendous opportunity there,” Trozzolo said. “Punch has built something special in Milwaukee, and Trozzolo is honored to partner with them to continue their great work and accelerate growth.”
