Austin-based marketing and public relations consultancies lookthinkmake and Giant Media merged on January 1, 2012. The result of the merger is a newly-created partnership under lookthinkmake including former Giant Media principal Cile Montgomery and current lookthinkmake partners Patricia Buchholtz and Sean Thompson.

Lookthinkmake offers brand communications and advertising services including brand identity and logo development, campaign planning, media planning and informal, interactive street marketing. The firm, which serves local, national and international clients has won twenty industry awards including a coveted national Gold ADDY.

With the integration of the skills and staff of Giant Media, lookthinkmake will now offer public relations services including media relations, content development and social media; and editorial services including writing and editing books, white papers and shortform content.

“Traditional advertising agencies are history,” says lookthinkmake partner Sean Thompson. “Advertising, public relations, and social media need to happen under one roof. The creative work that we do is only as good as the conversations it generates for our clients. With the addition of Cile and the Giant Media team, lookthinkmake is poised to tell even bigger brand stories across all media outlets.”

The principals of Giant Media and lookthinkmake first met in a series of meetings with Austin real estate developers Benchmark Development and real estate developer and consultant Terry Mitchell of MOMARK Development. Following four years of collaboration on real estate and nonprofit projects, the two communications and creative services firms decided to cement their already productive relationship.

“Our capabilities are best expressed in terms of character, intellectual horsepower and experience,” says lookthinkmake partner Cile Montgomery. “Sean, Patricia and I have personalities that conflict in a complementary way. This elevates our work.”

With the merger, lookthinkmake has a total of ten employees. With capacity to take on more work, the agency is expected to continue to grow and add both creative and communications talent.

“We launched lookthinkmake to cater to the entrepreneurial spirit, and over the past three years we’ve had the pleasure of working with clients determined to change the conversation of their industry,” says Patricia Buchholtz, lookthinkmake partner. “Our merger allows us to serve this dynamic group in a fully integrated way.”