 |
KemperLesnik has formed a partnership with artificial intelligence company GumGum Sports to provide media valuation of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, a college basketball tournament that takes place Nov. 19-21 in Lahaina, Hawaii. KemperLesnik has operated the tournament since 1990. GumGum Sports will apply its computer-vision capabilities to measure media value for the tournament’s sponsors across multiple platforms, including linear television, streaming and social media. “The company’s innovative methodology will help us further tell the story of the tournament,” said KemperLesnik executive vp Tom Valdiserri. “With a deep basketball background, our collaboration with GumGum Sports is a very natural one, and we look forward to the great insights.”
 |
Eric Dezenhall, CEO at public affairs and crisis management firm Dezenhall Resources, is the co-author of a new nonfiction book about the friendship between a CIA officer and a KGB agent. Written with Gus Russo, “Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War” tells the story of CIA agent Jack Platt and KGB officer Gennady Vasilenko, and the many twists and turns their friendship took after Platt participated in an attempt to “turn” Vasilenko. Kirkus Reviews calls the book “an unusual, entertaining story of steadfast friendship amid governmental treachery.” In addition to “Best of Enemies,” which is being released by Twelve Books on Oct. 2, Dezenhall is also the author of “Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal” and several novels.
 Tracy Tilson |
|
Photo: Liz McNeill Jenkins |
Boca Raton, FL-based Tilson PR has opened a satellite office in a unique location. The agency’s new Northeast outpost will be a 130-year-old, one-room schoolhouse in Hebron, NH. Tilson president and founder Tracy Tilson grew up in Wentworth, NH. The East Hebron Schoolhouse, which served Hebron students from 1888 to 1942, still has much of its original schoolhouse furniture, floorboards, wooden desks, slate chalkboard and outhouse. The agency celebrated the opening of new office on Aug. 11, with a presentation by historian Steve Taylor. Tilson PR has been operating in Boca Raton for close to 30 years ago and serves such clients as Ethan Allen, Dunkin’ Donuts and the American Red Cross.
DJE Holdings, parent of Edelman and Zeno, launches RUTH as an independent shop named after Ruth Edelman, mental health advocate, wife and longtime business partner of Dan Edelman.
New York City PR firms make up the largest slice of O'Dwyer's 147 firm overall ranking with 33 of 40 in the New York/New Jersey area either calling Manhattan their home or having a presence there.
Subject Matter+Kivvit, which joined forces in May, has rebranded as Avoq, an integrated shop with more than 200 professionals in Washington, New York, Asbury Park (NJ), Miami and Chicago.
While PR pros stationed at in-house comms. teams and those working for agencies share many of the same objectives, they also have markedly different top priorities, according to a recent report.
Edelman is cutting 240 employees or about four percent of its workforce to cope with the cooling down of the PR sector, according to a memo from CEO Richard Edelman.
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.