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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.
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.
PSC (Princeton Strategic Communications) acquires Nonprofit Partners... CG Life launches 24/364, a cultural brand platform intended to drive awareness, connection and action aimed at keeping rare disease at the forefront of the health and social conversation... Interluxe Group, which focuses on brand experiences and in-person activations; Quinn, a strategic communications agency; and media and digital agency North & Warren are uniting under the Interluxe Group banner.
KITH, which provides corporate reputation and crisis preparation services, is now owned by CEO Stephanie Craig, who has been with the firm since 2021... The Marketing Cloud, a part of Stagwell, introduces several expansions to Agent Cloud, the platform it launched in October 2025 to simplify access to its AI tools and marketing assistants.... Notified launches its AI Press Release Optimizer.
