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| Gloria Vanderham |
The Next Practices Group and The Bliss Group introduce NPG Health, a life sciences marketing and communications collective. The collective will launch alongside its first firm, Bliss Bio Health. Gloria Vanderham, who was most recently region Europe head of communications at Novartis AG, will serve as CEO for NPG Health and Bliss Bio Health. The Bliss Group founder and managing partner Michael Roth will take on the role of chair for both units. NPG Health and Bliss Bio Health will focus on early science, R&D research, medical education and advertising, commercialization, health programs and reimbursement. “Our goal is to build a one-stop solution from ‘atom to access’ that services our clients at the global level to meet the market needs,” said Bob Pearson, chair of The Next Practices Group and CEO of The Bliss Group.
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Motion has opened entries for its third annual Women of Impact Award. The award honors Chicago women who challenge the status quo in the marketing, advertising, public relations and communications fields. Award nominations, which include a 300-word entry outlining why the nominee deserves to be honored with the award, can be submitted via the online nomination form through Tuesday, Feb. 21. All entries will be evaluated by a panel of internal Motion team members who will then select three finalists to be announced on Wednesday, March 1. The 2023 Women of Impact Award winner will be announced Wednesday, March 8—International Women’s Day. Motion will make a donation on the winner’s behalf to a local charity supporting the empowerment of women. “We feel strongly about elevating the visibility of women’s accomplishments and highlighting those who are making waves in the industry,” said Motion founder and CEO Kimberly Eberl.
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Mod Op, a strategic marketing, design and communications agency, acquires Toronto-based creative agency Context Creative. Context Creative will become Mod Op’s second location outside the US (it also has an office in Panama) and serve as Mod Op’s Canadian headquarters. Context Creative founder Lionel Gadoury and agency principal Cate Jevons will join the Mod Op team as executive vp of strategy & creative and executive vp of client experience, respectively. “This is the logical next step for our agency and enables us to offer our clients the well-known benefits of cross-border business relationships,” said Mod Op CEO Eric J. Bertrand. “Context Creative’s well-rounded staff and expertise in the renewable energy and government sectors make it a perfect fit for Mod Op.”
Prosek Partners opens in San Francisco under the leadership of partner Nadia Damouni... Caliber Corporate Advisers, which works with clients in the fintech and financial services sectors, introduces the Caliber Authority Index (Caliber AI), a proprietary measurement platform... Herbie Thiele Consulting, a public affairs firm blending lobbying and communications, is launched by the longtime Sachs Media partner.
Bospar expands its Audit*E tool for small- and medium-sized businesses, which provides comprehensive visibility scoring, competitive analysis and platform-specific improvement recommendations, giving users actionable intelligence to help with brand positioning.... 5W is increasing its presence in Tampa and the Florida market....PR Consultants Group, a nationwide network of senior-level public relations, strategic communications and marketing specialists in more than 50 U.S. markets, has brought on 13 independently owned public relations firms across 13 markets and 12 states so far in 2026.
Real Chemistry launches MaestroHCP, which is designed to help pharmaceutical marketers plan, activate and measure HCP engagement with more speed, precision and control... Laughlin Constable Public Relations receives a Skyline Award from PRSA... 1Milk2Sugars, which has offices in New York, Toronto and Montréal, is expanding its influencer marketing offering with the establishment of a dedicated U.S.-based influencer team.
10Fold launches MetricsMatter 5.0, a proprietary communications intelligence platform that brings together earned media, social, digital, competitive performance, website activity and visibility across five leading LLMs... Stagwell increases its investment in Real Clear Holdings, publisher of political intelligence platform Real Clear Politics and creator of the RCP Poll Average... Aim & Grace, which works with tourism, hospitality and lifestyle brands, is launched by Amy Skelding and Grace Parker, who previously led Finn Partners' UK travel practice.
Weber Shandwick U.S. president Michael Wehman joins The LAGRANT Foundation board of directors... Financial Profiles, a strategic communications firm that provides companies with IR, PR. transactions and crisis communications, introduces ValueView360... Babbit Bodner, an Atlanta-based agency, is expanding to New York City.
