 |
Subject Matter+Kivvit, which joined forces in May, has rebranded as Avoq, an integrated shop with more than 200 professionals in Washington, New York, Asbury Park (NJ), Miami and Chicago.
Avoq offers government relations, PA, strategic communications, media relations, digital, website, app development, research, data analysis and advertising services.
It begins life with 14 partners and former Subject Matter CEO Nicole Cornish at the helm.
She said members of the leadership group “will foster and inspire the one-team culture of collaboration and excellence that sets us apart.”
Joining Cornish in the executive suite are COO Molly Scherrman, CFO Dave Metzger, and managing partners Eric Sedler, Steve Elmendorf, Jimmy Ryan, Dan Sallick and Paul Frick.
Coral Tree Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, owns Avoq.
Kivvit took the No. 18 slot in O’Dwyer’s 2023 rankings of independent PR firms with fee income of $39.5M. It was Chicago’s fourth largest firm with fees of $13.1M.
Subject Matter did not rank.
4media group completes its acquisition of Family Features Editorial Syndicate... Illumination PR, which represents lifestyle brands, influencers and celebrities, launches DR Media Group... EAG Advertising and Marketing acquires pay-for-performance firm INK inc. Public Relations. 
LLYC launches Signs of Pride, a campaign that revives the original protest banners of the first Pride marches... The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry forms the Public Relations and Digital Marketing Working Group... Circle of One Marketing, a Miami-based, minority-owned marketing agency, is named official agency of record for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. 
Vogel Group, a DC-headquartered government affairs and consulting firm, forms a strategic partnership with Montreal-based public affairs firm Boléro Stratégies... Matter Communications launches project-based offerings for B2C companies looking to increase brand awareness and visibility... Tucker/Hall, a Tampa-based PR and public affairs firm, opens a new office in Orlando. 
Why investing in public relations is ultimately about building bridges in a connected world.
Edelman is laying off 330 people (5.3 percent of its workforce) to cope with an anticipated eight percent shortfall in 2024 US revenues, and client demand for one-stop shopping for speciality services.
