 |
Propel, a PR software startup closes a $4.5 million seed round that brings the company's total funds to $6 million. CEO Zach Cutler told Business Insider that the funds would be used to hire marketing and salespeople in New York, Florida and London. He also plans to implement more machine learning to help the platform determine which pitches resonate the most with journalists. Propel counts Real Chemistry, Google and Antenna among its clients. Its media database includes more than one million journalists and 50 million influencers. The lead investor in the deal was NFX.
 |
The Public Relations Society of America National Capital Chapter introduces their Early Career Fellowship for Professionals of Color. The program, which is sponsored by global marketing, communications and digital transformation agency ICF Next, will provide four fellows with benefits that include a one-year mentorship with a PRSA NCC member, a three-month 2022 summer internship with ICF/ICF Next, payment of PRSA and PRSA NCC chapter dues for one year, and a $500 stipend for PRSA NCC events. The fellowship will run from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, and applications will be accepted online through April 30. "This fellowship provides diverse young professionals the opportunity to learn, grow and gain early traction in the field, and inspires us to continue to make positive change," said ICF Next senior partner, multicultural communications Vickie Gogo.
 |
| Andrew Graham |
Bread & Law is launched by Clear founder and PRSA New York's immediate past president Andrew Graham. The new PR agency is "designed to help companies thrive either despite or because of the erosion of trust in institutions and expertise." The firm will provide counseling and advisement to heads of communication and marketing, with a focus on helping them realize their agendas. Bread & Law will also serve as an incubator of specialized agencies, starting with a practice for start-to-finish thought leadership campaigns with fixed pricing and guaranteed results and an influencer marketing practice that targets micro-influencers. "Competition for attention is absolutely fierce today, and I've spent a lot of time coming up with a blueprint for what works," said Graham.
 |
My Code, a digital media company that connects brands, agencies, publishers and storytellers with diverse audiences, starts up W Code, which focuses on delivering authentic messaging and content to female audiences. W Code joins My Code's other platforms, which include H Code (directed at Hispanic consumers), B Code (which targets Black audiences), and A Code (which delivers messaging to the AAPI community). Its offerings include high-impact media across audio, CTV, video and display, robust creative content solutions, and first-party data from My Code's Intelligence Center. W Code is targeting brands within lifestyle, cooking, health and wellness, beauty and fashion, wedding and parenting verticals. "Brands must put in the work to understand the nuanced differences across female audiences and mold their messaging accordingly," said My Code COO Jennifer White.
Mark Allen & Co. acquires Alban Communications, establishing its first Miami office... Buchalter, a business law firm, launches a crisis management and strategic response group... 5W PR expands its beauty practice to include TikTok Shop-aligned PR campaigns and creator amplification strategies.
Caster Communications is acquired by long-time agency leaders Alexandra Crabb and Peter Girard... DiGennaro Communications launches The Authority Studio, a freestanding content strategy and production offering... The Brandman Agency, which specializes in luxury travel and lifestyle, rebrands as Brandman.
Public Inc., a social impact agency based in Toronto and New York, acquires Rocket Social Impact, an advisory firm that works with nonprofit and corporate social impact organizations... Ruder Finn launches “What’s Next: The Ruder Finn Podcast,” a new platform hosted by CEO Kathy Bloomgarden... Crowe PR joins United Partners Network, a network of independent PR agencies with members across more than 65 markets worldwide.
Ruder Finn launches rf.Voices, an integrated influence offering that brings together AI-powered influencer marketing, customer advocacy and paid amplification under one measurable framework... The Pollack Group is accepting applications through March 31 for The Big Red Grant, a $40,000 pro bono strategic PR and marketing engagement program awarded to a nonprofit organization ready for growth... D S Simon Media releases a report that says almost seven in ten producers (68 percent) are more interested in airing a story when they know it has been optimized for AI.
Precision Strategies, an integrated strategy and marketing agency with offices in Washington and New York, acquires Firehouse Strategies, a DC-based public affairs firm... AVENIR GLOBAL acquires London-based Thinks Insight & Strategy... Good Company, which bills itself as a “cultural engineering firm,” is launched by DJ Hardy, a veteran of Johannesburg-based communications consultancy arxna and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and Casey Stickles, who has worked at 5WPR, Rubenstein and MWW.
