Culture marketing specialists, Bolster, and arts and entertainment PR agency, Common State have merged to form Bolster Group. The newly created agency group will also welcome commercial rights, experiential and sponsorship specialists Aeroplane Agency and Indigenous-owned creative collective Going North.

Bolster Managing Director and Founder of Aeroplane Agency and Going North, James Clarke will serve as CEO of Bolster Group, while Founder and Managing Director of Common State, Luke McKinnon steps in as its Managing Partner. As part of the amalgamation, Emma Costello returns to Common State as General Manager after a stint in Europe, and Darren Levin steps into the newly created role of Head of Creative and Strategy.

The new group will provide a full-service offer incorporating communications; creative; media; PR; talent and influencer management; events; and digital and commercial rights services.

While continuing to operate independently under their respective brand names, Bolster, Common State, Aeroplane and Going North will commence a combined service offering to clients seeking a seamless solution, with Bacardi-Martini Australia appointing Bolster Group to oversee creative, digital and PR for its core four brands - Bombay Sapphire, Grey Goose, Patrón and Bacardi.

"The plan was simple," said Co-founder Luke McKinnon. "Bring the absolute best-of-the best when it comes to entertainment and culture marketing services under one roof and present clients with a robust integrated offer. Each agency brings deep sector expertise, but it is our inherent understanding of the cultural space that connects us. For brands, ‘delivering cultural relevance’ is a clarion call. Bolster Group agencies know no other way. It’s what got us here in the first place."

CEO, James Clarke added: "This is also about giving our talented teams the opportunity to creatively flex across different marketing disciplines and a broad range of projects and outputs.”

Headquartered in Melbourne, Bolster Group employs 62 specialists across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin, with clients spanning Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, and the United States.