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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.
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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.
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| 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.
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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.
Gregory FCA is marking its 35th anniversary with a comprehensive rebrand... Madden Media, a Tucson-based agency, teams with Denver-based Karsh Hagan... Jasper, an AI content automation platform, launches Jasper Grid, an interface that allows marketing teams to create and orchestrate content across a range of channels, audiences and regions.
Sommerfield Communications, a corporate, financial, and crisis shop that was acquired by Allison Worldwide in early 2021, re-launches as an independently owned firm... D S Simon Media launches a broadcast media tour designed to enhance Generative Engine Optimization... The Public Relations Society of America’s ICON 2025 Conference brought together close to 2,100 in DC from Oct. 28-30.
CorpBridge Advisors is launched by Bob Christie (Brunswick and Alibaba Group veteran) and Russ Rubino (Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange/NYSE alum)... Golin marked its 30th anniversary in Miami with an Oct. 23 gathering that celebrated its new outpost in Coral Gables... The Notability Company debuted at the PRSA annual ICON Conference in Washington.
Padilla launches Padilla GEO 3D, a service that aims to improve generative AI search results for brands and organizations... Bader Rutter, a Milwaukee-based B2B marketing agency, unveils the Chef Advisory Network, an initiative designed to bring the voice of the kitchen into food company boardrooms... Dilenschneider Group founder and principal Robert Dilenschneider’s new book, Respect: How to Change the World One Interaction at a Time, was released on Oct. 28 by Wiley... Blue Highway Advisory and Blue Highway Global, founded by former Mercury Public Affairs managing director Ian McCaleb in 2022, rebrands.
Vested forms a strategic partnership with growth marketing platform Fintel Connect, geared at driving growth for banks and financial brands through affiliate marketing... WPP launches WPP Open Pro, a new edition of its AI marketing platform WPP Open, which will provide a range of integrated, AI-powered delivery models... MikeWorldWide is hosting The Platform Fluency Initiative Webinar on Nov. 3 at 12:30 p.m. designed to help senior communicators navigate the opportunities of AI.
