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The Next Practices Group, a network of founder-driven firms that includes The Bliss Group, The Next Practice and NextTech Communications, introduces a "Shared Services" team. The team will be led by chief operating officer Michael Gehb. It consists of leaders in finance, human resources and information technology and will also provide expertise that includes tax, real estate, legal and business operations. "A great shared services team unlocks value for our founders and, ultimately, for our clients," said The Next Practices Group chair Bob Pearson. "In the months ahead, you will see our teams build robust practice offerings in key areas, such as healthcare, and in societally important areas, such as Purpose."
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TGI Sport, a sports technology, media and marketing company that works with such organizations as FIFA, Mediapro, Major League Soccer and US Soccer, acquires virtual media solutions provider Interregional Sports Group. ISG founders Simon Burgess and Tony Ragan will now lead "ISG powered by TGI Sport" under TGI Sport global CEO Martin Jolly and will also work closely with TGI's board. ISG's offerings include rights sales, content creation and distribution of virtual media through live sporting events. Bruin Capital and Quadrant Private Equity jointly own TGI Sport, and the deal is the first since Bruin backed the company in 2021. Jolly said the acquisition is "emblematic of how we plan to grow TGI going forward. Instantly, our business enters a new sector—one that many believe is the future of live sports media and advertising."
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Sēd Communications, a female-run marketing agency founded by DevriesGlobal and Porter Novelli vet Loretta Markevics, launches The Greenhouse, an in-house incubator that invents brands and products to directly support the startup community. The Greenhouse plans to launch one new brand per year, with profits to be invested back into marketing those brands. Sēd's agency team supplies all marketing support for the Greenhouse brands. As the owners of the brands they launch, the agency will use Greenhouse brands as a testing ground to experiment with marketing tactics, technologies, and approaches. "When every dollar counts for startups and digital marketing tactics and algorithms change every other week, it is more valuable than ever to know something works before recommending our clients invest in a new or unproven marketing approach," says Markevics.
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.
Ways Marketing Solutions, a Saudi Arabia-based marketing and communications group, teams with H&K alum James Drewer and Cake founder Mike Mathieson, to launch Ways Global Communications with HQs in London and Riyadh... UNICEPTA, a media intelligence provider within Stagwell’s The Marketing Cloud, launches an integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot... MAD Global CEO Mike DuHaime has been named to New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition team.
Ogilvy launches CultureCurrent, a social-first earned media offering that integrates cutting-edge technology with human cultural intuition to listen, identify, activate and amplify brand stories.... Forward Global, a risk and reputation management advisory firm, opens in Abu Dhabi... Lyons Broadcast PR marks its 20th anniversary with the introduction of new virtual production technology, enhanced media outreach tools, and integrated broadcast-digital strategies.
