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| WKC CEO Gwen Wunderlich and president Dara Kaplan |
Wunderlich Kaplan Communications has opened an office in Miami. The office will be led by WKC chief executive officer Gwen Wunderlich and new hire Jordan Smith. The new office’s client roster includes celebrity chef Chef Danie, of World Famous House of Mac and life coach Stephanie Catalano of Mindful Living Now. Miami has been named the top city in America for small business by Biz2Credit, and Wunderlich says WKC’s Miami office will represent the city’s “unique venues and emerging companies.” WKC is also opening a Boston office, in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood, on Sept. 1. An office in Dubai was launched in June.
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Edelman has formed a partnership aimed at helping companies use behavioral science to improve business performance. The partnership includes Harvard Business School researchers and Jason Hreha, former head of Behavioral Science for Walmart. It will be led by Felicia Joy, a senior vice president in Edelman’s advisory services practice as well as a Harvard-trained behavioral scientist. Employing randomized controlled trials and other methods, the partnership will focus on enabling clients to measurably prototype new programs. “Edelman is codifying behavioral science solutions in a way that makes them applicable across business units including communications, customer service, human resources, finance, marketing, product, sales and operations,” said Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans, who is working with Edelman to build client programs and analyze findings.
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Orange Orchard, which focuses on environmentally conscious businesses and nonprofits, has joined IPREX. The agency is a division of Tennessee-based Ripley PR, a fellow partner of the IPREX Global Communication Platform. Orange Orchard works with environmentally conscious organizations in the plant-based and vegan food and beverage and consumer goods industries, as well as companies in green construction, energy, green tech. “Orange Orchard’s expertise and understanding of this market will be a great asset to all IPREX partners whose clients have aligned missions or who are adjusting to create a better world,” said Julie Exner, senior vice president of Fahlgren Mortine and IPREX America's president.
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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