FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

HENRY ESHELMAN TEAMS UP WITH SIRI GARBER

IN PLATFORM MEDIA GROUP

 

New York, NY, May 2, 2006 –  Platform Media Group Inc. (“PMG”), an entertainment & marketing subsidiary of investment conglomerate Spackman Group, announced it has acquired The Public Eye, a boutique public relations firm founded by PR veteran Henry Eshelman following his recent departure from B|W|R Public Relations in March.  This acquisition is subsequent to PMG’s purchase in January of Platform Public Relations Inc., a celebrity public relations firm founded by Hollywood publicist Siri Garber.  Since October of last year, PMG has been making serial acquisitions of high caliber entertainment marketing firms and integrating such operations into one formidable non-traditional marketing agency with global reach.  Other acquisitions include such players as Mantra Media, Inc. and Faya LLC.  PMG, the combined company, provides to its roster of blue chip clients a comprehensive suite of non-traditional marketing solutions which include entertainment and talent public relations, event marketing, production, corporate branding and media property development.  PMG is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Seoul. 

As the principals of Platform Public Relations and The Public Eye, Garber and Eshelman will serve as Managing Partners in Platform Media Group.  Siri Garber made a name for herself in Hollywood since opening Platform Public Relations in 1998 and has earned a reputation as one of the leading publicists specializing in young Hollywood.  Garber’s entire client roster will continue with her at the newly formed PMG and clients include: Jeremy Piven, Cary Elwes, Taryn Manning, Cole Hauser, Meagan Good, Dominic Purcell, Mathew St. Patrick, Lacey Chabert and Steve Harris.

Eshelman left B|W|R in March, where he served most recently as Managing Director as well asa stint as Entertainment Practice Head of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, B|W|R’s corporate parent. Consumer accounts and projects Eshelman spearheaded in his eighteen years at B|W|R included: Absolut Vodka; Apple Computer; Allied Domecq; Champagnes Mumm/Perrier-Jouët; Commodore Electronics; Diesel; Indian Motorcycle Company; National Lampoon; Nokia; Patron Spirits Company; Perrier, and Contrex waters; Playboy Enterprises and Volkswagen of America.  For many years he led the agency’s delegation to the Cannes and Sundance film festivals (segueing recently into corporate branding from films for clients like VW and LG), did unit and release publicity for films as well as led B|W|R’s first expansion into new media and technology in the 1990’s and onward to gaming, where most notably, he secured an agent (CAA) for Lara Croft of Tomb Raider fame—the first digital character to have agency representation.

In making the announcement, Platform Media Group CEO Aaron Kaufman said, “We’ve acquired Garber and Eshelman’s companies, as well as the others now under the Platform Media Group banner, to serve the entertainment industry’s expansion across many sectors such as news, technology, sports, luxury and lifestyle marketing, and to expand our capabilities throughout Spackman Group’s global network of companies.  By bringing together their many strengths and long histories in the industry, we will now have robust capabilities in public relations, entertainment marketing and event productions on both coasts ready to serve entertainment and corporate clients.

Eshelman quips, “The Public Eye has got to be the shortest-lived public relations agency in history.  I’ll miss it.”  “But seriously” he adds, “client needs from what were traditionally public relations firms—and even what public relations means--have broadened considerably in recent years and, at PMG, we are uniquely experienced to meet those needs across the US, in Asia and soon, worldwide.”

Platform Media Group’s current entertainment roster comprises more than 30 talent clients including Jeremy Piven, Taryn Manning and Cary Elwes; corporate clients include spirits Belvedere and Hennessey,  Teva Outdoor and media company National Lampoon.

Spackman Group, the Hong Kong-based investment holding company of billionaire investor Charles Spackman, has aggressively fueled the recent string of acquisitions of PMG. The Group maintains holdings in various industries throughout Asia and the United States, and is an active investor in the entertainment industry having owned such assets as cable TV operations in Taiwan and Sidus Corporation, the largest movie studio in Korea, before selling it to Korea Telecom in September of last year.  Other entertainment holdings of Spackman Group include a major advertising agency and one of the largest talent management firms in the People’s Republic of China. 

Martin Mohabeer, head of Spackman Group’s U.S. operations and Chairman of PMG, stated, “Although firms such as Siri’s Platform Public Relations and Henry’s The Public Eye are hugely successful on a stand-alone basis, the integration of such firms will result in a entertainment marketing service provider that is even more effective at creating greater value for clients.”

About Platform Media Group Inc.

Platform Media Group Inc. ("PMG") is an entertainment marketing & communications firm. PMG provides a comprehensive suite of services, which include public relations, product placement, production of high profile events, and non-traditional field marketing for individuals, corporations and media clients. The firm's public relations division represents major celebrities in the fields of music, sports, film and television. PMG also provides innovative marketing services for corporate clients such as Heineken USA, Conair, Pella Windows, Sprite, Carpe Diem, Havaianas, Diageo, Marc Anthony Haircare, and many other recognized corporations. The unique approach of PMG has successfully created trade recognition and consumer/media awareness for the firm's many prestigious clients and their brands, products and services.

About Spackman Group

Spackman Group is a privately-held investment holding company that invests into and owns companies in a diverse range of industries including financial services, waste management, alternative energy, transportation, media & communications, entertainment, and real estate. As at December 31, 2005, the Group’s consolidated assets totaled over US$ 1.2 billion, mostly comprised of its ownership interests in a portfolio of privately-held and publicly-traded companies, as well as investments in other specialized asset categories. Over the past nine years, Spackman Group, together with its affiliates, has made investments in more than 70 businesses spanning 6 countries involving over US$ 2.2 billion in transaction value.