Kite Hill PR, an award-winning strategic communications agency, has bought Cutler PR. The acquired firm focuses on technology and has offices in New York City and Tel Aviv. Its clients work in cyber security, enterprise tech, mobile and retail technology. By taking on Cutler PR’s staff and accounts, Kite Hill PR moves straight into new B2B and emerging tech categories.
Zach Cutler founded his firm in 2009. Since then, the media relations shop has been agency of record for nearly 100 tech startups and established leaders. It led the U.S. launch of Gett and ran global PR for Trivia Crack, which grew to 250 million users. Its team has also helped dozens of young companies raise money, get acquired or go public.
Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO of Kite Hill PR and founder of Communications Week, called the deal a major milestone in the company’s history. She described it as a first step toward further international growth. Her aim, she said, is an agency that reflects the future of communications, covering traditional PR, content and experiential marketing. Cutler PR’s client roster and its tech PR know-how add real value to the firm, she added.
What changes for clients and staff
Current Cutler PR clients will gain access to Kite Hill’s wider services. Those include traditional PR and media relations, as well as event production and content creation. Cutler PR’s team will move into Kite Hill’s New York headquarters, since the agency is known for a creative culture and flexible work.
Cutler said he was thrilled about joining the Kite Hill family. The move, he explained, means more resources for clients and more opportunities for his team. From the start, his firm wanted to deliver strong results and help every employee learn and achieve more than they expected. He said he could not think of a better place for those values to live on. In his view, Kite Hill is known for media relations and a broad service mix, so together the two can offer clients even more.
A client also weighed in. Trevor Sumner, co-founder and former president of LocalVox and now CEO of Perch Interactive, said Cutler PR gave LocalVox huge visibility. Forbes, Business Insider and the Huffington Post all named it among the hottest startups in New York. Sumner credited that coverage, in part, for the company’s success and later sale. He said he looks forward to Kite Hill taking the same approach further for Perch Interactive.
Cutler’s next venture
After the deal, Zach Cutler becomes a strategic advisor based in Tel Aviv. His main focus will be Propel, a new venture that applies machine learning and analytics to PR. Propel bills itself as the first smart CRM for PR. It has closed an angel funding round and planned to open a public beta for agency and in-house teams the following month.
Guarnaccia said she was personally excited to see Cutler’s idea become real. One reason she founded Communications Week, she noted, was her belief that the PR industry must keep reinventing both its services and its tools. She praised Cutler for leading that effort and said Kite Hill will be one of Propel’s first beta customers.
Kite Hill PR officially launched in 2014. It is headquartered in New York, has an office in London and runs three divisions: Kite Hill PR, Kite Hill Content Studio and Kite Hill Experiences. Through them it offers media relations, content marketing and event management, mainly to clients in marketing, media, entertainment and emerging tech. Its events arm also runs Communications Week and several tech Meetup groups in New York City. Acting CFO Seth Rosenstein advised Kite Hill on the deal, while the terms were not disclosed.
