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| The Marquette Building |
WPP is creating a campus in Detroit, leasing 150,000 square feet in the Marquette Building, directly across from TCF Center. The campus, which is slated to open in late 2020, brings together the company’s agencies in the city, which include GTB, VMLY&R, Burrows, Hudson Rouge, Iconmobile, Xaxis and Zubi. They will work with Ford Motor Company, WPP’s largest client, which is planning a campus near the new WPP location. The Detroit campus will be the company’s tenth in North America, and the fifth to be unveiled in the last two years. “As the renewal of Detroit accelerates, we hope to become a destination for creative thinkers and innovators,” said WPP chief executive officer Mark Read.
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D/CAL, a strategic creative agency co-founded by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, and proprietary consumer intelligence platform Apollo Program are partnering to bring industry-exclusive behavioral insights and creative services to brands. The partnership combines insights from D/CAL’s Cultural Advisory Board with Apollo’s quantitative ability to assess consumer behavior. While each firm remains independent, they believe this combination creates a strategic advantage for both firms’ current and future client partners. “Our network knows what kinds of music, food, causes, art and other categories audiences are into right now, but Apollo brings that validating gut check,” said D/CAL co-founder Adam Wilson.
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| Michelle Olson |
Lambert has acquired a portion of Fingerpaint’s Phoenix-based business. The Fingerpaint team that will be moving to Lambert is led by Michelle Olson, who previously led Fingerpaint’s Phoenix office. Lambert is not taking over Fingerpaint’s Phoenix location. Olson’s team specializes in PR, brand journalism and integrated communications, and brings key clients in automotive & mobility and real estate, while expanding Lambert’s national footprint. Lambert’s new office joins its Michigan offices in Grand Rapids, Detroil and Lansing. The agency also acquired Owen Blicksilver Public Relations last year, giving it a New York presence. The Phoenix office will serve a roster of existing regional and national clients in addition to functioning as Lambert’s West Coast platform.
4media group completes its acquisition of Family Features Editorial Syndicate... Illumination PR, which represents lifestyle brands, influencers and celebrities, launches DR Media Group... EAG Advertising and Marketing acquires pay-for-performance firm INK inc. Public Relations. 
LLYC launches Signs of Pride, a campaign that revives the original protest banners of the first Pride marches... The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry forms the Public Relations and Digital Marketing Working Group... Circle of One Marketing, a Miami-based, minority-owned marketing agency, is named official agency of record for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. 
Vogel Group, a DC-headquartered government affairs and consulting firm, forms a strategic partnership with Montreal-based public affairs firm Boléro Stratégies... Matter Communications launches project-based offerings for B2C companies looking to increase brand awareness and visibility... Tucker/Hall, a Tampa-based PR and public affairs firm, opens a new office in Orlando. 
Why investing in public relations is ultimately about building bridges in a connected world.
Edelman is laying off 330 people (5.3 percent of its workforce) to cope with an anticipated eight percent shortfall in 2024 US revenues, and client demand for one-stop shopping for speciality services.
