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| Jessica Schaefer, Jeffrey Herzog |
The Avenue Z Network, launched in June by iCrossing founder Jeffrey Herzog, acquires Bevel, a communications consultancy for tech and venture capital. Bevel founder and CEO Jessica Schaefer will join the board of Avenue Z and serve as chief commercial officer. She will also remain CEO of Bevel for the next year. Bevel has worked with such clients as Acorns, Better.com, BlockTower Capital, RX3 Ventures (a consumer-focused investment fund backed by Aaron Rodgers) and the Sundance Film Festival. It says the new capabilities from the Avenue Z acquisition, will enable it to offer greater influence through search and social media. “By leveraging technology and data, we’ll drive brand visibility, build stakeholder engagement and provide clients with measured ROI,” said Herzog.
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PAN Communications, which works with B2B technology and healthcare brands, announces new services in conjunction with the firm's brand-to-demand marketing strategy and approach. The agency says that the services fuse brand awareness with demand creation by building and activating one narrative and strategy across the full customer journey. "We have seen over and again that without brand recognition and trust, B2B buyers are much less likely to respond to demand gen tactics," says PAN chief of integrated marketing and strategy Megan Kessler. "By leading with awareness and building a cohesive, timely narrative that threads a clear message and value proposition throughout the customer journey, we are able to help our clients build brand affinity and motivate action simultaneously."
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ICR releases its July 2023 SPAC Market Update & Outlook report, which shows a slowdown in SPAC activity during Q2 2023. Six SPAC IPOs raised just over $1 billion, down from 11 in the first quarter and the slowest quarter by deal count since the first quarter of 2017. However, SPAC IPO proceeds rose with the six SPAC IPOs completed raising an average of $186 million, up from an average IPO size of $82 million in Q1. The number of completed SPAC mergers also tool a slide, with just 10 companies completing mergers in Q2, down from 28 in Q1—the slowest quarter for closed SPAC mergers in nearly three years. But the report sees the slowdown as likely to be temporary. “Sponsors are still looking for deals, with 40 companies announcing SPAC mergers in Q2 and a backlog of over 150 pending mergers at quarter-end that should keep the SPAC market active in 2023,” said ICR Capital managing director Niren Nazareth.
Mod Op, a digital marketing agency, acquires brand strategy, package design & integrated marketing agency LAM Design... Warren Green & Associates is adding public relations to its services by partnering with Trip Whisperer Agency... The Pollack Group awards its Noemi Pollack Scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year to Sophie Schaked, a rising sophomore at The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
The Bliss Group opens a London office to serve professional services, financial services, healthcare, tech and impact clients with a European presence... Granite Creek Capital Partners in partnership with Boathouse Capital, makes an investment in The District Communications Group... Treble forms an artificial intelligence practice group, which will be led out of the agency’s San Francisco office by VP Will Kruisbrink.
CG Life brand The Market Element is relaunched as Element CG... Gateway Group, a financial communications and digital media advisory firm, is bringing back its annual Gateway Conference... Firebrand launches what it says is an industry first: an integrated Account-Based Marketing and PR service.
RVD Communications, a New York-based PR, influencer marketing and brand building agency, is acquired by Band of Insiders... An NCSolutions consumer sentiment survey finds that 55 percent of respondents would be more likely to try a product if it’s marketed as being aligned with a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle... IPG Mediabrands launches its Climate Action Accelerator Program.
If your firm took part in O’Dwyer’s 2024 Rankings, there’s still time for it to appear in the profile section of our big May Rankings Issue.
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