News of Firms

Lucy Zepp

Hawkins International Public Relations has set up shop on the West Coast with the opening of an office in Los Angeles and the hiring of Lucy Zepp as managing director. Zepp and her team will operate out of SPACES Fairfax, a West Hollywood co-working space. “Opening a West Coast office allows us to build on the agency’s success and momentum in New York while capitalizing on the exciting developments in the region and beyond,” said Jennifer Hawkins. Zepp comes to Hawkins from a senior VP post at HL Group in Beverly Hills, where she led the agency’s LA-based lifestyle team while overseeing national and west coast activities for key accounts.

Henson Consulting, Inc., has rebranded to Agency H5. The change is intended to mark its shift from a traditional PR consulting firm to an integrated marketing agency. Agency H5 says it will now offer more content-driven, fully integrated communication and brand approaches. “Our recent growth and competitive wins over local and global firms have placed us in the perfect position to ‘officially’ tout our full array of services,” said Agency H5 COO Kris Garvey Graves. “Current and prospective partners will continue to see the agency diversify and evolve its talent and offerings.” Over the past five years, the agency has experienced significant year-over-year growth, with total revenues up 80 percent

Elizabeth Christian

Austin, TX-based Elizabeth Christian Public Relations has acquired Wyatt Brand, Inc., creating one of the largest independent public relations agencies in Central Texas. Wyatt Brand co-founder David Wyatt will join ECPR’s senior leadership team as a director and co-founder Rachel Wyatt will be ECPR’s creative director. Elizabeth Christian will remain at the helm as chief executive officer. “Acquiring Wyatt Brand—bringing David and Rachel Wyatt’s unique expertise and sterling reputations into the fold—will allow us to grow and to serve our clients more robustly than ever before,” Christian said. In addition, ECPR has named Kristin Marcum as the agency’s president. Marcum joined the firm in 2003 and most recently was ECPR’s chief operating officer.

The Philadelphia Eagles were at the center of a wager placed between Philadelphia-based DDC Works and two of its Minnesota-based clients prior to the NFC Championship game on Jan. 21. If the Minnesota Vikings had come out on top, DDC would have received a bag of Lutefisk, a Scandinavian staple made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye. Since the Eagles racked up a 38-7 victory over the Vikings, DDC sent a package of a Pennsylvania favorite, scrapple, to the North Star State. And just in case their friends in Minnesota weren’t sure how to prepare the mysterious meat product (if you don’t know what’s in it, don’t ask), DDC made this video to show how it’s done.