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| Pia Carusone, Alex Bloom |
SKDK launches a New England practice, which will offer strategic communications and advertising support to campaigns and businesses across the region. The practice will be led by president of SKDK Political Pia Carusone and executive VP Alex Bloom, both of whom have deep experience in New England. Working with its sister agency Sloane & Company, SKDK has already built an extensive portfolio of New England engagements, including Steward Health Care, Gillette, Panera Bread, Hartford HealthCare, and National Grid. The agency also advised the winning campaigns of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH). “New England is home to the world’s most advanced businesses, forward-thinking foundations, leading universities, and best hospitals and medical centers, and we are looking forward to helping them tell their stories,” said Bloom.
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Penta acquires Copperfield Advisory, a communications, brand and strategy consulting firm that serves institutions in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Copperfield founder and managing partner Andy Whitehouse will serve as a senior partner at Penta and managing partner of the firm’s New York strategy practice. The acquisition is intended to further expand Penta’s position as a comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm, combining analytics and research with deep expertise. Copperfield’s specialties include brand positioning, transaction communications, talent strategy and crisis preparedness. “Their extensive work on reputation management, especially in complex situations, is a great complement to Penta’s capabilities,” said Penta president Matt McDonald. Penta was established in September 2022 following the merger of Ballast Research, Hamilton Place Strategies, Flag Media Analytics, alva, Gotham Research Group, Decode_M and Hume Brophy.
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Red Havas, part of the Havas PR Global Collective, forms a global partnership with Meltwater, which specializes in social and media intelligence. The companies become preferred partners on a global level, with Red Havas using Meltwater solutions in their work with clients, and Red Havas managing media relations and executive thought leadership for Meltwater. “Since 2015, Red Havas has used Meltwater not only to review data, but also to understand what it really means for us and our clients. As communicators and storytellers, we are excited to work with an organization pioneering solutions that augment how our industry operates,” said James Wright, Red Havas global CEO and global chair of Havas PR Global Collective.
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Manifest launches a new brand identity, along with unveiling its status as a B-Corp and the introduction of a “planetary dividend” for clients choosing to switch to the agency from a fossil-fuel supporting agency. As part of the dividend, Manifest will donate 10 percent of a client’s fees to regulated reforestation projects for the first year of working together. The agency scored 97.4 in the B-Corp assessment process, 17.4 points above qualification and one of the highest scoring agency networks. The process analyses an agency’s governance structure, environmental impact and behavior as an employer, in addition to nature of the work it produces, and who it produces it for. “Programs like B-Corp provide an infrastructure for brands to be confident in the ethical and environmental practices of their creative partners. That’s why it’s not just a significant program for Manifest, but for the industry as a whole,” said Manifest founder and Group CEO Alex Myers.
Golin launches Lighthouse 360, a service helping companies handle the human side of AI adoption... PR Boutiques International adds five new members... 24 Seven, a marketing, creative and digital talent solutions firm, acquires New York-based marketing consulting firm Markacy.
The Public Relations Global Network adds Rooster, a London-based agency, as its newest member for the United Kingdom... Spectrum Science launches Mo (short for Momentum), an AI-powered platform... Kinetic Marketing Communications, a women-owned marketing communications agency and on-demand marketing talent firm, launches its Strategic Marketing AI Framework.
Ruder Finn launches rf.StoryLab, a creative incubator that merges generative AI tools with human-powered creative vision... Do It On, a Lisbon-based marketing and communication agency, joins INT. Agencies, an international collective of independent full-service agencies with a presence across five continents... The Public Relations Society of America releases “AI Prompting 101: A ‘Start Here’ Guide for Professional Communicators,” a resource offering practical, structured guidance to help communications pros integrate generative AI tools into their daily work.
PKPR, a New York-based boutique shop, launches a book publicity division focused on nonfiction authors... Palantir Technologies and Stagwell form a partnership to create an AI-driven platform for marketers... The Conference Board is presenting a Nov. 18-19 event at the Brooklyn Marriott that will look at the priorities, challenges and opportunities facing AI decision-makers today.
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.
