Motion adds Vehr Communications to its Midwest buy-and-build

The Motion Agency has acquired Vehr Communications, one of Cincinnati’s largest PR and integrated marketing firms. The deal, reported by PRWeek, takes effect on 1 October. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Motion was founded in Chicago in 2006 by Kimberly Eberl and describes itself as the city’s largest certified woman-owned marketing communications agency. With Vehr on board, it will have close to 90 people across Chicago, Cincinnati and Nashville.

Vehr Communications was also founded in 2006, by Nick Vehr, and has built a reputation for complex institutional and civic work across manufacturing, education, nonprofit, transportation and the public sector. It has been part of the global IPREX network since 2018 and has picked up a string of local PRSA, AMA and AAF awards.

Nick Vehr stays on as executive vice president, focused on business development and growth. His client-facing team and existing clients move across to Motion.

A buyer with a clear plan

This is not an opportunistic one-off. Motion has been acquiring steadily: 2.718 Marketing and Rick Miller Communications in early 2024, video production firm AKA Media in January this year, and Chicago ad agency LKH&S in June, which was its seventh deal. Vehr follows straight on.

Cincinnati is a deliberate bet. Rick Miller Communications gave Motion its first foothold there. Vehr deepens it with long-standing local relationships and more senior talent. Eberl, herself a Cincinnati native, framed the move as “investing in Cincinnati’s future and not just participating in it.”

Nick Vehr made the case for the region too, pointing to Cincinnati’s concentration of consumer products, financial services and manufacturing companies as the reason it punches above its weight in marketing and PR.

What sellers can learn from this

Three things stand out for agency owners.

First, the founder stays on in a growth role. Vehr moves from running the business to winning new work, which keeps client relationships stable and gives the buyer a proven rainmaker in a market it is still building.

Second, regional strength is an asset. Vehr is not a national name, but it owns a valuable position in its home city. To a buyer assembling a Midwest network, that local depth is exactly the point.

Third, serial acquirers are often the best buyers. Motion has done this repeatedly and knows how to integrate a team without losing clients. Founders weighing offers should look hard at a buyer’s track record, not just the headline number.