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| Lowell Hall |
Hall+Co. has been established after a rebranding and dissolve of Toronto-based Ireland+Hall Communications Inc. Ireland+Hall co-founder Lowell Hall will take on the role of founder and agency creative lead at the new firm, handling day to day operations and supervising all major accounts. Account director and media relations manager James Tessier will become vice president, accounts. Hall+Co. is launching two specialty departments—a marketing and brand experience team and a sponsorship and corporate partnership team. The new agency will work closely with sister agency and partner Pennant Media Group, and its international partners include BUZZ Communications, based in New Delhi, and Rayhill Media, an American/Canadian mass media and entertainment syndicate headquartered in New York City.
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| Charlene Peters |
Hemsworth Communications is opening a Northern California office in Napa Valley. The launch of the office will be overseen by Charlene Peters, who will serve as managing partner. Since 2015, Peters has served as director of marketing and communications for Visit Calistoga, where she was responsible for brand-building and global destination positioning. At Hemsworth, she will join forces with Charleston, SC-based Food & Beverage PR Director Lacey Outten to lead the agency’s Food, Wine & Spirits division, which was formalized in 2018 after years of servicing clients within those sectors. “Having a presence in Northern California will enable us to continue elevating the personal service we provide our existing clients, several of whom are based on the West Coast,” said Hemsworth founder and president Samantha Jacobs.
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| Shawna Seldon McGregor |
Shawna Seldon McGregor, a former senior vice president at The Rosen Group, has formed Maverick Public Relations, a Denver-based communications consultancy that specializes in the biotech, health & wellness, agribusiness, sustainable technologies, renewable energy, associations, media and cannabis industries. The new agency’s offerings include public relations, media training, investor relations, content development, thought leadership development, speaking engagements, response strategy/crisis management and event support. McGregor established TRG’s Denver office in 2012 and became known as one of the first public relations professionals working in the legal cannabis industry. She began her career at Porter Novelli’s pharmaceutical practice in New York City.
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.
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