 |
| 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.
 |
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.
 |
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.
 |
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.
Curley & Pynn Public Relations Management rebrands as Biplane focused specifically on helping nonprofits build visibility, reputation and trust to advance their philanthropy... SKDK launches a payer negotiation practice that is designed to support health systems as they navigate increasingly complex negotiations with insurers... ChangeMakers, a strategy and communications firm with over 400 professionals across North America, launches RepScore.
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.
