Lambert & Co. purchases minority stake in Detroit PR firm Van Dyke Horn

Lambert & Co. purchases minority stake in Detroit PR firm Van Dyke Horn
Olson

Public relations and integrated communications firm Lambert & Co. has entered into a new strategic partnership with the largest minority-owned public relations agency in Michigan.

Announced by both parties today, Grand Rapids-based Lambert has purchased a minority stake in Van Dyke Horn Public Relations, a minority-owned and woman-led PR agency based in Detroit. 

Led by CEO and founding partner Georgella Muirhead and president Marilyn Horn, Van Dyke Horn has held a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification for the last 24 years.

Collaborative projects and general growth strategy between the two organizations will be co-led by Lambert CEO Michelle Olson and Chairman Jeff Lambert in concert with Horn and Muirhead.

“We’ve been minoring in DEI consulting and multicultural marketing, but this is an opportunity to major in it and to help the Van Dyke Horn team scale their services nationally and into fast growing sectors like private equity, public companies and ESG mandates,” Lambert’s Olson said in a statement. “This investment and partnership reflects the heart of our agency, it was part of my platform as PRSA National Board Chair, and I’m so fired up to put my words into action as part of the VDH team.”

Both Van Dyke Horn and Lambert were founded in 1998. In addition to its headquarters in Grand Rapids, Lambert now maintains a presence in New York City, Phoenix, Houston, St. Louis and Detroit.

“As an agency, we’ve earned a reputation for integrity and leadership in the Detroit area, as well as work we’ve done with regional and statewide partners, for more than two decades in community and multicultural engagement,” Muirhead said. 

“We believe that our record of success will serve us well as we broaden our portfolio to include more public company board rooms, national brands and major institutions outside the state,” Muirhead added.

Lambert also is a partner and minority equity owner in Houston-based, Hispanic-owned brand strategy, consulting and multicultural marketing firm 9thWonder, a purchase Lambert made in 2020.

Van Dyke Horn recorded approximately $2 million in fee revenue in 2021. Lambert’s fee revenue clocked in at $16.7 million in 2021, according to O’Dwyer’s, an industry publication that maintains a directory of nationwide public relations firms.

“I founded the firm with a focus on growing our Return on Equity as a business metric, but this has expanded to also measuring the return on equity in our representation, our inclusion, in the clients we serve, and in our investments,” Jeff Lambert said. “This partnership — and our national consulting on diversity and multicultural marketing — is us doubling down on our commitment to be catalysts for change for our clients and any organization with the desire for growth.”