LA production anddistribution group Mosaic Media Group has moved into the marketing arena withthe formation of Elevation Entertainment, a joint venture with Denny Young andSteve Lindecke's Elevation Group of companies. In addition, Mosaicpresident Allen Shapiro announced today (Feb 5) that the company is to acquirehalf of The Steven Rifkind Company's (SRC) marketing division.

The 20-person ElevationEntertainment will focus on entertainment and sports marketing, sponsorship andcorporate consulting. Elevation's clients have included Microsoft,General Mills, US Bank and others. Meanwhile SRC, which was founded in 1989 bystreet marketing pioneer Rifkind, specialises in youth market penetrationthrough grassroots promotions and 'guerilla-style' marketingcampaigns. Corporate clients have included Paramount, Miramax and DreamWorks,as well as Nike and Pepsi. SRC and Elevation Entertainment will work separatelyand cooperatively on Mosaic projects.

'We can no longer takethe relationship between consumer brands and our clients and properties forgranted,' Shapiro said in a statement. 'Utilising entertainmentproperties to effectively reach audiences is no longer an afterthought forbrands. Through the integration of Elevation's and SRC's marketingspecialties, and impressive track record that comes with Denny, Steve andSteven, we will be able to offer our clients and their clients a morecomprehensive service.'

Mosaic Media Group launchedin July 1999 following the merger of film and music company Atlas Entertainmentand its affiliated division Atlas/Third Rail Management, with the talentmanagement group The Gold/Miller Company. It recently produced the Warner Broshit Scooby-Doo and is inpre-production on the sequel. Mosaic is also a minority shareholder inproduction/foreign sales outfit Lakeshore Entertainment.