The following article was published in
The Holmes Report: PR Agency Report Card 2007

LVM GROUP
Media Relations boutique with professional services, real estate expertise

LVM founder David Grant honed his skills with Howard Rubenstein's firm before striking out on his own 30 years ago, and about half of the staff at LVM have backgrounds in journalism, so you know the firm won't ever lose sight of the fact that most clients hire a public relations agency to deliver stellar media results in top tier publications such as The Wall St. Journal, New York Times and Business Week. But at LVM it's never just publicity for publicity's sake. The firm prides itself on delivering on-strategy media placements that drive business, although its principals also have experience in crisis media relations, and the firm has added capabilities in new and social media relations.

Historically, the firm has done much of its best work in the real estate sector, including not only developers, but also construction companies, design and architectural firms. For more than 20 years, for example, it has provided PR counsel to the Maklin family, which controls numerous New York real estate properties, including the Empire State Building. Today, however, its business is considerably broader than that. The firm has several law firm clients and expertise in professional service firm marketing, including giant PEO Administaff. It works for New York's Channel 13. And perhaps its largest client is 3M, which uses LVM for board corporate and business-to-business communications. New additions in 2006 include RKT&B, an architectural firm, and Fairfield Towers, a 21-acre apartment complex in Brooklyn. It's quite a diverse client list for a boutique with fewer than 10 people and fees of around $1.7 million.

In response to recent growth, two years ago Grant named Jeannette Boccini as principal — only the second person to hold the title in the company's history. To spur future growth, meanwhile, LVM entered into a strategic alliance with investor relations specialist Andrew Edson & Associates, a move designed to help the firm work more closely with publicly owned companies. And the firm is a member of the Pinnacle Worldwide network of independent PR firms, which gives clients access to an international network as needed.

Annual Report Card
LVM Group Earns Top Grade

In its annual report card on public relations agencies, The Holmes Report, a leading trade publication and web site, cited LVM Group as one of the Best Places To Work. The ratings are based on a survey of 3,500 employees of almost 100 agencies, covering all aspects of agency culture, including trust in management, compensation and client service.