 |
| Chuck Surack |
North 6th Agency has been named PR firm for Sweetwater, an online retailer of music instruments and pro-audio gear based in Fort Wayne, IN. N6A will work to raise the profile of Sweetwater's brand as well as support its corporate initiatives, events and philanthropic activities across national, local, trade and digital media outlets. In addition, the agency will donate all funds raised in its May #Pitching4Purpose initiative to Sweetwater's philanthropic efforts, which support local Fort Wayne charities and organizations. Sweetwater CEO Chuck Surack founded the company in 1979 after he struggled to find new and better gear to record bands out of a 4-track recording studio in the back of his Volkswagen bus.
 |
V2 Communications has added artificial-intelligence companies ReadSpeaker and Clinc to its client roster. For ReadSpeaker, which provides natural-sounding synthesized voices, V2 will work to highlight the company’s position as an independent digital voice partner in a field dominated by such tech giants as Apple, Google and Amazon. The agency will work with Clinc to strengthen its brand recognition and validate its platform among key verticals, specifically the banking industry. Clinc creates conversational experiences for digital brands by employing what it calls “human in the room” AI, which understands messy and unscripted language, allows for corrections and backtracking and enables complex conversational flows.
 |
Vladimir Jones is working with Tourism Santa Fe on a project to keep prospective visitors to the city engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Make Your Own Margarita Trail is an online version of The Margarita Trail, a popular Santa Fe activity. The project is working with area restaurants and bartenders to collect recipes and produce how-to videos. Those materials will then be incorporated into an ongoing Instagram story to align with the refresh of the Uncover Your Different brand that Tourism Santa Fe put into place last September. Vladmir Jones is Tourism Santa Fe’s agency of record. Santa Fe attracts an average of two million overnight visitors annually, generating more than $6 billion in economic impact every year.
 |
|
L-R: RoadRunner VP Engineering Cason Male, VP Sales Shane Kilcoyne, and founder and CEO Graham Rihn |
Matter Communications has been appointed agency of record for RoadRunner Recycling, a Pittsburgh-based startup providing custom recycling and waste solutions. Matter will lead a PR program, including media relations, events and awards, to increase awareness of the RoadRunner brand and its services. The company will also work with Matter’s creative team to produce a series of recruitment and customer testimonial videos. Using artificial intelligence technology, RoadRunner connects businesses with recycling and waste disposal needs to other businesses that have underutilized truck fleets, which pick up and deliver the recycling to processing centers.
Page launches the Polansky Future Leaders Fund, which was established through a gift from 2025 Page Hall of Fame inductee and former Weber Shandwick Global CEO Andy Polansky... Ruder Finn reintroduces its website, ruderfinn.com, which will now feature a large language model (LLM) as its primary user interface... Higher Plane Media is launched by former Sloane & Company CEO Darren Brandt.
Champion, which specializes in restaurant, franchise and consumer brands, opens a Miami office, adding to its operations in Dallas and Los Angeles... Violet PR, a Montclair, NJ-based firm that focuses on economic development, commercial real estate and place branding, opens a second office on Park Avenue South in New York... Inflection Point, a founder-led, senior growth systems partner for startups and growth-stage businesses, launches... PRSA announces the recipients of its inaugural Women of Impact Awards. Honorees honorees were recognized during the PRSA Women of Impact Summit & Awards at the Union League Club of Chicago.
FleishmanHillard is shuttering its 20-member Dublin office as Omnicom Public Relations reorganizes its global operations... Vested acquires Watermark, a D.C.-based public affairs and special situations firm.... Matter earns two Pinnacle Awards 2026 Marketing & Communications honors for its clients.
Quad/Graphics launches Direct, a Quad Agency to help marketers create, execute and measure direct marketing campaigns in one connected offering... InnoVision Marketing Group SVP/senior creative director Giselle Campos and SVP/general manager Alanna Markey are among the first-ever winners of the San Diego Business Journal’s Indispensables Awards, which recognizes professionals who make the greatest impact within their organizations and across the San Diego business community... Park Place Technologies, an IT infrastructure services firm that works with Feintuch Communications, releases the second episode of its “The Savvy CIO” podcast. 
Ripley PR is named a silver winner in the TITAN American Business Awards’ Outstanding PR Campaign category... Excellera, a corporate-advisory firm, came in at number one in deal count, as well as fourth in deal value, in Mergermarket’s list of top EMEA firms... Thunderly is telling the stories of military veterans who transferred the discipline, organization and leadership skills developed in service to their country into successful post-military careers as franchise business owners, as part of its year-long "American Dreamers: The Stories of Franchising" effort.
