PadillaCRT Rebrands As Padilla

The name change comes as the agency said its broadening its approach to public relations and communications.

March 21, 2017

Andre Eggert

PadillaCRT said on Monday that it was changing its name and rebranding as Padilla.

The name change comes as the Minneapolis-based marketing agency—and others around the country—looks to expand the scope of its services and market itself as a one-stop shop.

“The name change is a natural progression for our company since so many of our employees, clients and industry partners already refer to us as Padilla,” CEO Lynn Casey said in a statement.

The company, founded in 1961, was long known as Padilla Speer Beardsley. It changed its name to PadillaCRT in 2013 when it acquired Richmond, Virginia-based CRT/tanaka.

Padilla has grown by 400 percent since Casey assumed the role of chief executive 15 years ago. It’s been done both organically and through acquisitions. In addition to CRT/tanaka, the company scooped up two other consulting firms: in-house brand strategy firm Joe Smith Agency in 2015 and food and nutrition consultants FoodMinds in 2016.

Despite the name change, Padilla chief counsel officer Mark Raper—who previously headed CRT/tanaka before it was acquired—said the culture and values of the company remains the same. “Removing CRT from our name doesn’t change who we are.”

Padilla isn’t the first Twin Cities company to slim down its name, especially in the PR and advertising sector. In 2014, Carmichael Lynch Spong changed its name to Spong PR and Campbell Mithun became Mithun. Since then, both companies have rebranded yet again: Spong PR is now Carmichael Lynch Relate and Mithun is McCann Minneapolis.

The agency has 240 employee owners with offices in Minneapolis; New York; Chicago; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco and Los Angeles. Its clients include 3M, Bayer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Land O’Lakes, Mayo Clinic and Xcel Energy. It is one of the largest independent PR firms in the country.

TCB has recognized Lynn Casey several times for her work at Padilla, including a 2014 induction into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame and naming her a Wonder Woman in 2017.

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