 |
| (L-R) Frank Burrell, Dominic Viola |
Deerfield Agency, a marketing and communications agency that works with healthcare and life science brands and companies, acquires Embedded, a NJ-based, healthcare marketing and advertising firm founded by Dominic Viola and Trevor Fusaro. The acquisition will unite Deerfield Agency, Verge Scientific Communications (which was acquired by Deerfield in 2022) and Embedded under the new brand Deerfield Group. Viola will join Deerfield Group as president of integrated marketing and Fusaro comes on board as chief strategy officer; Deerfield Agency CEO Frank Burrell will take on CEO duties for Deerfield Group. “Over the last 10 years, Deerfield Group has continued to evolve to shape new services, solutions and ways of working that allow us to truly deliver for our clients,” said Burrell. “We are thrilled to welcome Embedded, whose seasoned team adds to our bench of marketing and communications strategists, enhancing and expanding how we plan and execute for clients every day.”
 |
Golin releases its CEO Impact Index, a study that illustrates how high-profile CEOs can have a big effect on the business performance of the companies they lead—making a direct impact on shareholder value. By linking executive visibility to business performance advantages, the study makes a case for why leaders need to build and maintain strong public profiles. The CII ranked each of the Fortune 250 CEOs across eight quantifiable areas of executive visibility: earned media, LinkedIn presence, business rankings, trade engagement, global forums, employee engagement, thought leadership and overall sentiment. The top 10, 25 and 50 CII CEOs’ business performances—including metrics such as share price growth, earnings-per-share and others – were then measured against the comparable set from the Fortune 250 ranking. The analysis revealed a strong “visibility dividend” for corporations, with the 50 CII CEOs enjoying an 80 percent higher average annual share price growth compared to the average of the top 50 of their Fortune 250 peers. “The age-old question for CEOs has been—how important is it to maintain a public profile?,” said Golin CEO Matt Neale. “Our promising initial findings show that in today’s connected world, it’s essential.”
 |
Sprout Social, which provides marketers with cloud-based social media management software, releases a series of AI-powered product enhancements alongside 20 new capabilities across its platform. The innovations automate key elements of content creation, reporting and social care. Standout AI capabilities include Generate by AI Assist, which makes it easier for brands to improve accessibility by writing highly accurate alt-text for images, and Analyze by AI Assist, which surfaces notable performance and conversation trends for brands. Sprout will also introduce key product updates including new access to Snapchat profiles through Tagger, Sprout Social’s influencer marketing platform, which enables brands to explore market trends, identify competitive insights and connect with target audiences in new ways. “These new capabilities aim to address some of our customers’ greatest challenges and embed the latest AI advancements directly into their existing workflows,” said Sprout Social president Ryan Barretto.
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.
Ways Marketing Solutions, a Saudi Arabia-based marketing and communications group, teams with H&K alum James Drewer and Cake founder Mike Mathieson, to launch Ways Global Communications with HQs in London and Riyadh... UNICEPTA, a media intelligence provider within Stagwell’s The Marketing Cloud, launches an integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot... MAD Global CEO Mike DuHaime has been named to New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition team.
Ogilvy launches CultureCurrent, a social-first earned media offering that integrates cutting-edge technology with human cultural intuition to listen, identify, activate and amplify brand stories.... Forward Global, a risk and reputation management advisory firm, opens in Abu Dhabi... Lyons Broadcast PR marks its 20th anniversary with the introduction of new virtual production technology, enhanced media outreach tools, and integrated broadcast-digital strategies.
