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JIN, a digital communications and PR agency based in Paris with offices in New York, London, Berlin and Lisbon has received €3 million (approximately $3.4 million) in funding from CITA Investment as it works to expand its influence in Europe. The funds will be used for senior talent recruitment, technological innovation and strategic acquisitions. It will also boost the group’s development in London and Berlin to increase its network of partners in Europe and better support local and international clients. Founded in 2012 by Edouard Fillias, Alexandre Villeneuve and Romain Boudre, JIN offers a combination of social media, media relations and public affairs, supported by in-house technology solutions for digital media monitoring and performance.
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| Jolie Balido |
New Star Media, a minority, women-owned marketing communications firm, has launched in Miami. New Star has been founded by Jolie Balido, who founded Roar Media in 2008, and Tina van der Ven, who previously directed regional business development, marketing and communications for law firm Greenberg Traurig. Before Balido sold her stake in Roar last year, the firm had grown to become South Florida’s third-largest agency by revenues and number of employees. New Star will provide business development strategy, public relations, branding, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, graphic design, analyst and investor relations, media training, digital marketing and social media to corporate, institutional and nonprofit businesses and organizations.
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| Merril Hoge |
Baker Public Relations hosted a virtual sports roundtable on June 9, bringing together such Pittsburgh sports experts as ESPN analyst and former Pittsburgh Steeler Merril Hoge, MLB Network analyst Sean Casey, University of Pittsburgh Athletic Director Heather Lyke, and Frank Velasquez of Allegheny Health Network Sports Performance. The roundtable was moderated by KDKA Radio Morning News host Larry Richert. The panelists discussed how sports entities have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, how they can rebound, and the changes that likely lie ahead in the sports world. When asked if he shares the NFL’s confidence that there will be football this year, Hoge said: “I do, especially for the preseason. The preseason is the easiest portion of the season to do it because, quite honestly, when you’re at training camp you’re quarantined anyway.” The event was free and open to the public. A live feed of the event was also featured on Baker Public Relation’s Facebook page. A recording is posted to the Baker Public Relations’ Facebook page.
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.
