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Prosek Partners acquires a stake in Blue Dot Capital, a boutique sustainable finance consulting firm with expertise and experience in advising investment-management firms on developing comprehensive ESG and impact investing capabilities. Combining the two firms, which have been working together for close to two years, will allow them to offer a full spectrum of ESG advisory services encompassing ESG policy, governance, integration, investment strategy, reporting, investor relations, narrative-building, and strategic marketing and communications. “We have developed a team that can build and measure the investment programs and also communicates them to stakeholders,” said Prosek Partners CEO and managing partner Jennifer Prosek. “Blue Dot will expand Prosek's already robust ESG offering to include strategic ESG and impact investment program advisory.”
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| Dan Simon |
Qwoted, a platform that uses AI to connect the media with matching sources and PR pros, closes a $3 million Series Seed round of funding. Prosek Venture Partners and Vested, both pre-seed investors in the platform, are part of this round of funding, along with a consortium of communications firms including Integral, Caliber Corporate Advisers, Haymaker PR, FHS Partners and Red Lab. Qwoted plans to use this investment to enhance its technology capabilities and add talent to its sales, marketing and media success teams. “This funding will directly support Qwoted’s mission to help journalists and industry experts to find each other more easily and build long-term relationships,” said Qwoted CEO & co-founder Dan Simon, who is also CEO of Vested. “Securing this investment is a testament to the value that Qwoted is bringing to its users.”
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Praytell teams up with insight and strategy firm Kelton Global to produce its 2021 Optimism Index. The index assesses sentiment from 250 U.S. respondents who have decision-making authority in marketing roles to find out their motivations and the outcomes they’re seeing. The index finds that almost nine out of ten respondents (88 percent) want to see more positive messaging in ads. In addition, more than 70 percent say that optimistic ads are more effective and memorable than pessimistic ads. However, only 37 percent thought that society is becoming more optimistic and slightly over half (52 percent) say there are too many negative ads. The agency is also launching Praytell Advance, a reputation practice led by chief reputation officer Adam Warrington, who joined the agency in February 2021 from Anheuser-Busch. “Perhaps the most precious resource available to marketers is optimism, and with today marking the summer solstice, we chose to launch our inaugural Optimism Index on a day that inherently inspires people across the world,” said Warrington.
CG Life brand The Market Element is relaunched as Element CG... Gateway Group, a financial communications and digital media advisory firm, is bringing back its annual Gateway Conference... Firebrand launches what it says is an industry first: an integrated Account-Based Marketing and PR service.
RVD Communications, a New York-based PR, influencer marketing and brand building agency, is acquired by Band of Insiders... An NCSolutions consumer sentiment survey finds that 55 percent of respondents would be more likely to try a product if it’s marketed as being aligned with a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle... IPG Mediabrands launches its Climate Action Accelerator Program.
If your firm took part in O’Dwyer’s 2024 Rankings, there’s still time for it to appear in the profile section of our big May Rankings Issue.
Crowe PR is forming a strategic alliance with brand consultancy Movetic... SKDK founding partner Bill Knapp is inducted into the Association of Political Consultants Hall of Fame... SixSpeed, an independent creative marketing agency, acquires KC Truth, a media and creative shop.
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