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McKinney, a Durham, NC-based creative and media agency with primary offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix, acquires influencer marketing agency August United, which was previously owned by holding company Audacious Studios. McKinney will also acquire Tailwind, the performance media arm of Audacious Studios, with the goal of bolstering its integrated offering. M&A advisors TobinLeff identified the opportunity and advised McKinney on the acquisition. “Influencer marketing is becoming a more integral part of our clients’ marketing plans,” said McKinney CEO Joe Maglio. “Micro and mid-tier influencers in particular – August United’s focus area – have been shown to drive significant engagement and impact purchase decisions, and I’m excited to bring this expertise to our client partners.”
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| Paul Miser |
5W Public Relations is launching a digital agency, HOW, as a stand-alone, wholly-owned subsidiary of the firm. HOW will be led by executive VP, digital, Paul Miser, who was hired in November 2022 to spearhead the expansion of 5W’s existing digital business. Its capabilities will span strategy, analytics, content, technical and paid campaigns. The new agency is already working with a variety of clients, including both independent digital and integrated digital and communications programs, spanning consumer and B2B. “For us, it all comes down to how — how you assemble, integrate, and operationalize the complex moving parts of today’s digital ecosystem to spark and create growth for brands,” said Miser.
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EverService Holdings, picks up RYNO Strategic Solutions, a digital marketing solutions provider specializing in the home services industry. EverService says that adding RYNO’s digital marketing expertise to its portfolio will enable its clients to reach new customers, increase their online visibility and grow their businesses more efficiently. “This marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth trajectory,” said EverService CEO Jeff Mosler. “This acquisition is part of EverService’s ongoing efforts to expand our suite of services and deliver maximum value to our customers.”
The PHA Group, which has offices in London, Manchester and Leeds, is expanding to New York... The Next Solutions Group launches NSG Health... Rational 360, a DC-based firm, has relocated to an 18,000-square-foot space on the city’s K Street business corridor... KAOH Media, a firm specializing in clean energy, sustainable infrastructure, and ESG-driven investments, launches Fieldwise Civic Engagement.
SKDK merges with digital advertising firm Wavelength Strategy... Supreme Group launches Supreme Intelligence, an artificial intelligence platform designed to meet the commercial needs of healthcare and life sciences companies... Relevance International introduces Artificial Intelligence Amplification Optimization, a proprietary service designed to help brands create a competitive advantage for AI visibility... IMAGINE PR introduces a brand partnerships division, which will focus on ensuring that partnerships are meaningful and measurable, rather than transactional.
SourceCode Communications acquires Rally Point Public Relations... Ruder Finn launches its AI Accelerator, a set of tools and capabilities that will be embedded across client work, agency workflows, and talent recruitment and development, as a way of building AI-native expertise across disciplines... Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy, a communications, media strategy and public relations firm, is merging with Athena Global Advisors. 
MikeWorldWide launches a supply chain, logistics, and infrastructure practice... Kroll introduces two practices: Kroll Economics and Decision Intelligence... Orange Orchard founder Heather Ripley is hosting a free 60-minute live masterclass on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. EST to help animal sanctuaries earn meaningful earned media coverage and turn that visibility into stronger community support.
Stagwell agencies Doner and Colle McVoy form a “strategic alliance” that will operate as DonerColle Partners... Merryman Communications, a healthcare marketing and communications agency, rebrands as M+... Crowe PR launches Crowe Media platform... Tauth Labs, which provides content authentication solutions for clients in the communications, financial services and local government sectors, has been certified by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity.
