Bolster and Common State merge to form agency group, welcomes Bacardi-Martini as first client
Culture marketing specialist Bolster has merged with arts and entertainment PR agency Common State to form a new agency group, Bolster Group, Mumbrella can reveal. The group has welcomed its first combined client, Bacardi-Martini Australia.
Bolster Group will provide a full-service offering that incorporates communications, creative, media, PR, talent and influencer management, events, digital and commercial rights services.
Bolster Group is made up of four separate agencies
It will continue to work with existing music, entertainment and arts clients.
As part of the merger, the group will also welcome commercial rights, experiential and sponsorship specialists Aeroplane Agency and Indigenous-owned creative collective Going North, both founded by Bolster managing director, James Clarke.
While each of the four agencies will continue to operate independently under their respective brand names, Bolster, Common State, Aeroplane Agency and Going North, they will commence the combined offering for clients seeking seamless solutions.
Clarke said Bolster and Common State’s “trajectories have risen in parallel”, so it made sense to combine forces.
“From scrappy start-up beginnings, we’re both delivering world-class campaigns for the country’s best entertainment organisations and culture focused brands. We’ve built out new ventures with great partners along the way including Going North and Aeroplane,” he said.
Clarke will serve as the agency group’s CEO, while Common State’s founder and managing director, Luke McKinnon will be managing partner. Both will also continue in their roles at their respective agencies.
“My focus for the group is to enable clients to unlock maximum value through our integrated service offering – something that has not been done to its fullest potential in the entertainment and culture space before,” Clarke continued.
“This is also about giving our talented teams the opportunity to creatively flex across different marketing disciplines and a broad range of projects and outputs.”
McKinnon said the plan was simple, and bringing the “best-of-the-best” in entertainment and culture marketing together was a no brainer.
“Each agency brings deep sector expertise, but it is our inherent understanding of the cultural space that connects us,” he said.
James Clarke and Luke McKinnon
“For brands, ‘delivering cultural relevance’ is a clarion call. Bolster Group agencies know no other way. It’s what got us here in the first place,” McKinnon continued.
As part of the merger, Emma Costello has returned to Common State as general manager, after a stint in Europe, while Darren Levin has stepped into the newly created role of head of creative and strategy.
The agency group has welcomed Bacardi-Martini Australia as its first combined client, where it will oversee creative, digital and PR for its core brands Bombay Sapphire, Grey Goose, Patrón and Bacardi.
Marketing director at Bacardi-Martini Australia, Donna Mulholland, said: “I wanted an agency partner who’d bring the strategic rigour of a big shop, but the insider nous (and knowhow) to take our brands – both super premium and those steeped in heritage – and explode them into the cultural zeitgeist.
“In Bolster Group, we’ve found the perfect partner – nimble, plugged in and creatively on-point,” she said.
The agency group is headquartered in Melbourne, with other locations including Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin. Its clients spans across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia and the US.
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Lauren McNamara was the associate editor at Mumbrella. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left Mumbrella in August 2025.
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topics
Aeroplace Agency
Bacardi-Martini
Bolster
bolster group
Common State
Donna Mulholland
Going North
James Clarke
Luke McKinnon
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