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UniWorld Group, which is a multicultural affiliate of WPP, starts up a NIL (name, image, likeness) program to benefit Black collegiate student-athletes. The new sports business consulting unit will partner with major brands to maximize the equity and empowerment impact of their investment in student-athletes. UWG says the unit will ensure that brands’ NIL endeavors include equal and fair ad investment allocation and the creation of relevant content. They will also work to develop programs providing mentorship and other industry support to Black student-athletes. “UWG wants to push into a space where their NIL investments in black college athletes will empower this generation to become the brands of the future,” said UWG chair and CEO Monique Nelson.
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Peppercomm launches the Laughing Matters Council to focus on ways that the principles of humor can be used to drive long-term business success. “Laughter and humor in the workplace have never been more important,” said Peppercomm founder and CEO Steve Cody. “Our mission is to raise awareness of humor as an incredible change agent.” As part of the council’s work, Peppercomm is offering three humor-led service offerings: Stand Up and Connect, a how-to on the tenets of comedy to bring joy and imagination back into work; Stand Up and Lead, focused on managerial leadership and growth; and Stand up and Change, a three-pronged approach to connect and catalyze stakeholders across the change journey utilizing humor, experiential learning, and branding and communications expertise.
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Gather, a cloud-based solution that allows web and application developers to generate revenue without ads, is partnering with GIVE Nation, an organization aimed at bringing crypto-based sustainable financial literacy to children and their parents. The partnership will allow Gather users to donate to the GIVE Nation Initiative. All donations raised through this initiative will continue this mission to spread sustainable financial literacy in schools across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Donors within the U.S. may be able to receive a tax deduction for their contributions. “Learning about financial literacy should be positive, fun and engaging,” said Gather CEO and founder Raghav Reggie Jerath.
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.
