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Moonshot, a venture studio focused on purpose-driven brands and products, is started up by the leaders of three enthusiast lifestyle agencies: Ryan Chuckel, CEO and founder of Gunpowder Inc.; Tihomir Liptak, CEO and founder of Bodhi; and Aaron Hitchins, partner at Rockhouse Motion & founder of the Rockhouse Agency. In addition to helping clients create companies from scratch and helping early-stage companies or startups with investment or growth opportunities, Moonshot will partner with companies to provide access to world-class talent and resources. Services it will offer include brand development, creative and production, digital growth strategy, public relations, operations, recruiting and human resources. “We started Moonshot to give us an infrastructure to truly invest in businesses we believe in, accelerate growth in a way traditional agencies can’t and share our insights and resources with purpose-driven brands who share our passion for growth,” said Chuckel.
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5WPR acquires YC Media, a food and beverage communications firm. YC Media founder Kim Yorio comes on board at 5W as senior VP. YC’s clients will continue to receive hands-on strategic consultation from Yorio while gaining access to 5W’s service offerings and client network, including full-service digital capabilities through the firm’s recently launched agency, The HOW Agency. “From our first meeting with Kim and YC Media, it was clear that her firm’s boutique approach to client services, coupled with their strategic expertise that is on par with leading global agencies, mirrors our own,” said 5W co-CEO, Dara A. Busch.
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In Truth is launched by sustainability consultants Emma Steele, Sally Cornelius and Bethan Pugh to help businesses and brands keep track of their reputations on environmental sustainability. In Truth canvasses stakeholders and examines a brand’s media coverage to provide a comprehensive report on perceptions. The report is geared toward helping companies understand how their messaging and initiatives are playing out, helping to minimize any accusations of greenwashing. “Being able to take a comprehensive read on what is and isn’t working – for both our clients and their competitors – means investment can be planned more wisely in terms of operations and initiatives, but also with respect to marketing and comms efforts,” said Steele.
Fire on the Hill, and Fourth Day, along with its sister company Quatrième Jour, are merging... 5W publishes a study that says many long-time media heavy hitters are coming up short in terms of their AI influence... EducationDynamics, a higher education marketing and enrollment management company, acquires Net Natives... Mark Allen & Co. is launching an expanded thought leadership model with multiple activations at Cannes Lions 2026. 
4media group acquires The CauseWay Agency, a purpose-driven communications agency specializing in public service announcements... Featured, an AI co-pilot for PR, launches a platform that will allow PR professionals and subject-matter experts to find media opportunities, submit pitches, and land featured placements... IPREX, a global network of independent communications and marketing agencies, brings on Heidi Otway of SalterMitchell PR in Florida as global president.
Montieth & Company introduces M&Co Litigation Intelligence... BERA.ai, a brand measurement platform that ties brand equity to revenue and business growth, introduces BERA LLM Brand Rankings... Matter launches its PR Media Group.
PRSA adds author and branding expert Sally Hogshead and three-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning journalist and entrepreneur Gaby Natale to the keynote lineup for ICON 2026, its annual conference for public relations and communications professionals... Publicity for Good founder and CEO Heather Holmes releases “Seen by AI, Found by Customers”... 5W AI Communications publishes “The 5W Retrieval Index — Volume I: The AI Retrieval Economy, 2026.
Edelman launches Edelman Intelligence, bringing together the firm’s proprietary AI solutions, data science, research, analytics and predictive intelligence capabilities into a unified organization... Havas Paris is acquiring Format, an agency specializing in next‑generation corporate influence communications... Trevelino/Keller launches Exec-AI, a solution aimed at demonstrating the power of executive visibility across generative AI platforms as well as measuring an executive's contributing visibility lift on the companies they lead.
