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Barabino & Partners, Italy’s largest corporate communications firm, joins Excellera Advisory Group, the country’s top corporate affairs advisory group. Under the terms of the deal, which will be completed by the end of May, Barabino & Partners will continue operating under the B&P brand. B&P was founded in 1985 by Luca Barabino, who will remain CEO at the firm alongside Federico Steiner, who continues as general manager. The transaction is intended to strengthen Excellera’s presence in Italy through the addition of the Genoa office of Barabino & Partners to the group’s existing ones in Milan, Rome and Treviso. Excellera is also acquiring Community, a firm that works in the reputation management sector. “The management autonomy of each brand is a key element to develop the individual companies and the Group as a whole,” said Excellera Advisory Group CEO Paolo Zanetto.
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Abel Communications launches "Expertise, Amplified," an on-demand thought leadership program designed to programmatically and strategically raise the profile of subject matter experts. The program offers thought leaders services including proactive media relations and media training, as well as assistance with award nominations, speaking engagements and content creation. It also features monthly "Hot Topics" calls with a dedicated account team, quarterly in-person strategy meetings, KPI tracking, media monitoring and customized reporting and analysis. As few as one or as many as five experts from one company or organization can take part in the program. "What's important is the execution; you can do this haphazardly or you can have a structured plan, and that's what 'Expertise, Amplified' offers," said Abel Communications CEO and president Greg Abel.
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160/90, a cultural marketing agency that is part of Endeavor, partners with social fintech platform Lumanu to introduce Integrated Creator Commerce, an offering within its creator, digital and social practice. The offering consists of three primary elements: creator sourcing, which provides access to 40,000 pre-vetted creators for identification, outreach, procurement, and payments; performance media, which will enable 160/90 and its clients to use creator assets for targeting, social ads and landing pages; and affiliate marketing. “Integrated Creator Commerce has the power to shape the future of how creators and brands work together, demonstrating how deeper, mutually beneficial relationships can deliver a stronger ROI,” said Lumanu co-founder and CEO Tony Tran. 160/90 previously worked with Lumanu for seven years to support paid efforts for the agency-run creator campaigns on behalf of the agency’s roster of clients
Stagwell launches NewVoices.ai, an independent AI-powered sales agent that can book appointments, drive conversions, resolve questions and handle customer concerns... Cision acquires search intelligence platform Trajaan... The McRae Agency, a Scottsdale, AZ-firm t, celebrates its 30th anniversary.
energi PR, an independent shop based in Montréal and Toronto, marks its 35th anniversary. It is the Canadian affiliate of DC-headquartered GHMC (Global Health Marketing & Communications)... Barabino & Partners and Community, which are part of Italy’s Excellera Advisory Group, snag top positions in the MergerLinks rankings in the PR Consultants in EMEA category... Honeyjar, an “AI co-pilot” that will leverage brand context, goals and campaign history into a collaborative workspace providing communications & PR pros with assistance across the end-to-end execution of communications, announces a $2M pre-seed fundraise and the launch of its Early Access waitlist.
The Communications Group, a Little Rock-based shop releases its first Public Affairs Marketing Trends Report... The Worldcom Public Relations Group votes Paris-based firm SEITOSEI•ACTIFIN into its global partnership... PRNEWS, a European PR-tech firm, relocates its U.S. headquarters to downtown Miami.
af&co., a San Francisco-based hospitality marketing and PR agency founded by Andrew Freeman, is marking its 20th anniversary... Notified launches Syndicated Articles... Crosby Marketing Communications selects four students from Anne Arundel Community College for its marketing scholars program.
KCSA Strategic Communications launches the KCSA AI Lab, which will develop proprietary AI systems to expand what strategic communications can achieve for PR and IR clients... Clipbook, a vertical AI platform for strategic communications and public affairs, closes a $3.3 million seed round co-led by Mark Cuban, Commonweal Ventures and Carpenter Capital... VizSense, a Boston-based AI influencer marketing agency, teams up with holographic storytelling company Geminai, to launch what they say is the next frontier in brand experiences: interactive holograms powered by AI.
