 |
SCS, a brand transformation agency, merges with Atlanta-based independent digital performance marketing agency Swarm. The combined company will operate under the SCS brand name and include 100 people across offices in Atlanta, Southern California and Ottawa, Canada. Swarm CEO Tom Ellis will now serve as chief revenue officer of SCS and Swarm SVP, marketing and implementation; Alexa Ellis becomes SCS chief operating officer. The Ellises founded Swarm in 2009. SCS founder and CEO James Schiefer will remain in his position, as will president and chief strategy officer Jeff Roach. “We were attracted to Swarm because of its founders’ commitment to employees and clients as well as its strength in digital, media and DTC focus, designing compelling campaigns and communications across a variety of brands and to a variety of consumers,” said Schiefer.
 |
ICR launches “Welcome to the Arena,” a podcast featuring interviews with CEOs, CFOs, financial analysts, members of the media, investment bankers, private equity executives and those who influence and create value for public and private equity backed companies. Hosted by ICR co-founder and CEO Tom Ryan, the podcast debuts Aug. 18, with new content released every two weeks. Among the podcast’s first guests are Piper Sandler managing director, senior research analyst Nicole Miller Regan; Baron Capital vice president, portfolio manager Laird Bieger; and ICR president Don Duffy. “We are thrilled to launch our new podcast and allow companies to proactively drive the conversation with stakeholders while listening to other thought leaders that can influence their businesses and build equity value,” said Ryan. The podcast will be accessible on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are available.
 |
The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment is one of the groups behind a new awards program intended to recognize outstanding examples of impact investing communications. The Impact Narrative Awards are open to any organization involved in impact investing and the wider ecosystem (social entrepreneurs, accelerators/incubators, market builders). San Francisco-based Thinkshift Communications will develop a communications strategy for the awards program and Thinkshift principal Sandra Stewart will serve as one of the competition’s judges. Entries are due August 23. There is no fee to enter either of the two categories, one for narratives addressing governments and the other for those aimed at the financial sector. “Too often communications about impact investing are complex and confusing, and these awards will champion those who are succeeding at storytelling,” said Stewart.
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.
