PR Firm News: PRSA Adds Hogshead, Natale to Confab Line-Up
Fri, May 29, 2026
By Steve Barnes
PRSA adds author and branding expert Sally Hogshead and three-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning journalist and entrepreneur Gaby Natale to the keynote lineup for ICON 2026, its annual conference for public relations and communications professionals... Publicity for Good founder and CEO Heather Holmes releases “Seen by AI, Found by Customers”... 5W AI Communications publishes “The 5W Retrieval Index — Volume I: The AI Retrieval Economy, 2026.
Washington Women in Public Relations announces finalists for its 16th Annual Emerging Leaders Awards... The Hispanic Public Relations Association opens submissions for its 2026 HPRA National ¡BRAVO! Awards... Clearpoint Agency, which has offices in San Diego and Boston, received gold and bronze honors in the PR category at the American Marketing Association San Diego’s 2026 Sandie Awards on May 21. 
Publicis Groupe Chief Strategy Officer Carla Serrano called on the 475 gathered for the 59th Annual Matrix Awards May 19th at NYC's Ziegfeld Ballroom to not let the night "be another awards ceremony" and make it "a moment where we refuse to be edited out, not now, not for AI, not ever."
The Public Relations Society of America awards the 2026 Best of Silver Anvils Award to the American Academy of Pediatrics for its Vaccine Confidence campaign... Laughlin Constable Public Relations was recognized as a Silver Anvil Award Finalist by PRSA for its campaign for the grand opening of PENN Entertainment and Hollywood Casino’s $185 million entertainment destination in Joliet, IL... BridgeView Marketing is cited by the Hermes Creative Awards and the Communicator Awards.
MikeWorldwide came out on top in the PR category at The 24th Annual American Business Awards... Story Partners and the Washingtonian presented PBS senior correspondent Judy Woodruff with The Hall of Fame Award at the 13th Annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards... The LAGRANT Foundation, in celebration of its 28th anniversary, is awarding 19 scholarships to students nationwide for its Healthcare Marketing and Communications Scholarship Program.
MACCO Group, a national business restructuring and financial advisory firm, launches a dedicated crisis communications and special situations practice... Anomaly, a Stagwell unit with 600 staff across its talent hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, Berlin and Shanghai, launches a Paris office... ASTRSK PR opens applications for its 8th Annual Pro Bono Contest. The contest awards one early-stage startup, founded by a woman, BIPOC, AAPI and/or LGBTQIA+ entrepreneur, with a full year of PR services valued at over $200K.
The Public Relations Society of America's New York Chapter is accepting entries for the 39th Annual Big Apple Awards through May 17, with a 15 percent early bird discount (code: EARLYBIRD26) for entries received by April 16... Washington Women in PR opens nominations for the 2026 Washington Women in PR Emerging Leaders Awards... Ragan Communications, along with its Communications Week brand, is accepting nominations for the Zenith Awards through April 17.
Ruder Finn acquires The Equity Group, a New York-based investor relations agency... PRSA announces FutureCon 2026, a one-day summit on May 14 that will look at how artificial intelligence, media disruption and evolving stakeholder expectations are reshaping the communications industry.... IPREX held its inaugural IPREX Leadership Development Conference from March 16-20....Elpida, a Tel Aviv-based AI-powered marketing compliance platform built for the healthcare industry, launches a new platform designed to streamline regulatory compliance.
French/West/Vaughan wins five 2025/2026 American Advertising Awards, which recognize creative excellence... Crosby Marketing Communications is named a 2026 Google Premier Partner in recognition of its digital advertising performance... The Brand Guild co-CEOs and founders Barbara Martin and Jayne Sandman are named to the Inc. Female Founders 500.
BerlinRosen was named Observer’s #1 Best PR Firm in America for the second time, which no agency has ever done.
M Booth and Carmichael Lynch Relate came out on top at the 2018 PRSA-NY Big Apple Awards, which were held on June 11 at the Mandarin Oriental in New York.
Last night’s annual Big Apple Awards, hosted by the New York chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, took aim at fostering diversity in the PR workplace. 
PRSA-NY will present their 2018 awards for individual achievement by public relations practitioners to Roger Bolton, Shelley J. Spector and Olga González during the 31st Big Apple Awards presentation ceremony on Monday, June 11.
Washington Women in Public Relations is recognizing up-and-coming female communicators at its 9th Annual Emerging Leaders Awards on Tuesday, May 15.
WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation honored corporations and individuals that are increasing diversity in the boardroom at its 2018 Visionary Awards. 
