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Washington Women in Public Relations names its 2021 class of Emerging Leaders Awards. The awards honor five women between 25 and 35 who have excelled in public relations and related fields, and given back to the industry by contributing their skills and talents to innovative initiatives and projects. Curley Company vice president Stefani Alexander won in the Small/Boutique Agency category, and Edelman senior account executive, corporate affairs Rosemary Girard took home the award in the Mid- to Large-Sized Agency category. The government award went to Rachel Stephens, press secretary, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives; Maggie McClain, senior director of communications, Food Allergy Research & Education, was recognized for her work in the non-profit sector; and the award for in-house work went to Emily Newman, Senior Speechwriter, National Association of REALTORS®
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| Jonny and Paddy Davis |
Allied Global Marketing acquires Honey + Buzz, a Dublin-based experiential marketing agency that was an early adopter of virtual and hybrid events. The acquisition is intended to bolster Allied’s existing North American experiential marketing business and expands its global footprint. As a part of Allied, Honey+Buzz will service existing and new clients in Europe and beyond. “The team at Honey+Buzz shares our vision, and they have an excellent track record of breakthrough creativity and continuous innovation,” said Allied CEO Clint Kendall. “As the demand for in-person live experiences returns, the combination of Allied and Honey+Buzz is uniquely positioned to bring our clients the best of integrated live and digital experiences,” said Honey + Buzz co-founders Jonny and Paddy Davis.
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Blue State has launched a multidisciplinary political practice directed toward inspiring and turning out voters. Blue State Campaigns will provide multi-channel fundraising, strategic communications, paid media, and general consulting to Democratic and progressive campaigns, candidates and organizations across the country. The agency as a whole will continue to work with nonpartisan institutions. Blue State Campaigns will be led by Tessa Simonds, who most recently served as senior advisor for digital organizing on the Biden-Harris National Coordinated Campaign at the Democratic National Committee. “Blue State Campaigns will help run smart, integrated programs rooted in progressive values that focus a campaign’s time and money on reaching the voters and mobilizing the grassroots supporters they need to win,” said Blue State founder and CEO Joe Rospars.
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TrailRunner International opens an office in Nashville. Headquartered in Dallas/Fort Worth, the communications and strategic advisory firm also has offices in New York; San Francisco; Washington, DC; Shanghai and Truckee, CA. Sarah Grubbs, director at TrailRunner International and a Nashville native, has relocated from the firm's New York office to open and serve as the head of the Nashville office. She will be joined by TrailRunner International managing director Johanna Hoopes. "Nashville has a fantastic talent base and thriving economy, and the city reflects the very best in leadership. We are proud to expand into this important growth market," said TrailRunner International founder Jim Wilkinson.
Stagwell launches NewVoices.ai, an independent AI-powered sales agent that can book appointments, drive conversions, resolve questions and handle customer concerns... Cision acquires search intelligence platform Trajaan... The McRae Agency, a Scottsdale, AZ-firm t, celebrates its 30th anniversary.
energi PR, an independent shop based in Montréal and Toronto, marks its 35th anniversary. It is the Canadian affiliate of DC-headquartered GHMC (Global Health Marketing & Communications)... Barabino & Partners and Community, which are part of Italy’s Excellera Advisory Group, snag top positions in the MergerLinks rankings in the PR Consultants in EMEA category... Honeyjar, an “AI co-pilot” that will leverage brand context, goals and campaign history into a collaborative workspace providing communications & PR pros with assistance across the end-to-end execution of communications, announces a $2M pre-seed fundraise and the launch of its Early Access waitlist.
The Communications Group, a Little Rock-based shop releases its first Public Affairs Marketing Trends Report... The Worldcom Public Relations Group votes Paris-based firm SEITOSEI•ACTIFIN into its global partnership... PRNEWS, a European PR-tech firm, relocates its U.S. headquarters to downtown Miami.
af&co., a San Francisco-based hospitality marketing and PR agency founded by Andrew Freeman, is marking its 20th anniversary... Notified launches Syndicated Articles... Crosby Marketing Communications selects four students from Anne Arundel Community College for its marketing scholars program.
KCSA Strategic Communications launches the KCSA AI Lab, which will develop proprietary AI systems to expand what strategic communications can achieve for PR and IR clients... Clipbook, a vertical AI platform for strategic communications and public affairs, closes a $3.3 million seed round co-led by Mark Cuban, Commonweal Ventures and Carpenter Capital... VizSense, a Boston-based AI influencer marketing agency, teams up with holographic storytelling company Geminai, to launch what they say is the next frontier in brand experiences: interactive holograms powered by AI.
