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| Art Stevens |
The Stevens Group has formed a strategic partnership with TPC Growth that will focus on CEOs of public relations, digital and influencer marketing, social media and experiential marketing agencies who have sold their firms. The partnership provides these CEOs with consulting services aimed at helping acquired agencies assure continued growth, and maximizing the seller agency's traditional earn out potential. It will work to identify pathways to organic growth at the account and enterprise level for acquired agencies, as well as providing agency-business planning and positioning, plus strategic new business development. “With the TPC Growth offering, we believe TSG can jointly offer a service that not only assures the selection of the most compatible acquirers under the most favorable financial terms, but also help acquired agencies significantly increase their business and EBITDA during the three, four or five-year earn-out that follows,” said The Stevens Group managing partner Art Stevens.
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March Communications has launched In the Pod, a podcasting-as-a-service program for B2B and consumer tech brands. In the Pod is designed to let clients create such programming as a short-run miniseries to support a specific campaign or a weekly recurring series that can serve as the idea engine for a company’s content, communications and social media activities. Clients can receive the training needed to produce their own shows or they can rely on March’s team to handle production duties. The agency says that in the U.S. alone, more than 100 million Americans age 12 and over say they listen to podcasts each month, with the numbers especially high for listeners between 25 and 34—a growing demo for tech buyers. “If you’re looking to reach the people who influence and make tech-buying decisions, podcasting is not a tool that you should be leaving on the table,” said March director of content strategy Manny Veiga, who also hosts March’s Hacks and Flacks podcast.
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| Meg Vesce |
West Fourth PR has been started up by Meg Vesce, who has led global communications for Marriott brands including Westin Hotels and Le Meridien. While Vesce specializes in public relations, the new firm will also offer such services as marketing, brand strategy, design and social media. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, West Fourth already works with clients such as KOALA, The Ben, Autograph Collection, Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell, Aloft Miami Brickell and Casa Legado Bogota. It also plans to expand its range outside of the hospitality sector to serve clients in wellness, spirits and humanitarian causes.
Ruder Finn launches rf.StoryLab, a creative incubator that merges generative AI tools with human-powered creative vision... Do It On, a Lisbon-based marketing and communication agency, joins INT. Agencies, an international collective of independent full-service agencies with a presence across five continents... The Public Relations Society of America releases “AI Prompting 101: A ‘Start Here’ Guide for Professional Communicators,” a resource offering practical, structured guidance to help communications pros integrate generative AI tools into their daily work.
PKPR, a New York-based boutique shop, launches a book publicity division focused on nonfiction authors... Palantir Technologies and Stagwell form a partnership to create an AI-driven platform for marketers... The Conference Board is presenting a Nov. 18-19 event at the Brooklyn Marriott that will look at the priorities, challenges and opportunities facing AI decision-makers today.
Gregory FCA is marking its 35th anniversary with a comprehensive rebrand... Madden Media, a Tucson-based agency, teams with Denver-based Karsh Hagan... Jasper, an AI content automation platform, launches Jasper Grid, an interface that allows marketing teams to create and orchestrate content across a range of channels, audiences and regions.
Sommerfield Communications, a corporate, financial, and crisis shop that was acquired by Allison Worldwide in early 2021, re-launches as an independently owned firm... D S Simon Media launches a broadcast media tour designed to enhance Generative Engine Optimization... The Public Relations Society of America’s ICON 2025 Conference brought together close to 2,100 in DC from Oct. 28-30.
CorpBridge Advisors is launched by Bob Christie (Brunswick and Alibaba Group veteran) and Russ Rubino (Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange/NYSE alum)... Golin marked its 30th anniversary in Miami with an Oct. 23 gathering that celebrated its new outpost in Coral Gables... The Notability Company debuted at the PRSA annual ICON Conference in Washington.
