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Cornerstone Government Affairs opens a Columbia, SC office, marking the 13th state in which the company maintains a physical presence. The new office will be led by Daniel Boan, who most recently served as chief of staff and legal counsel for the South Carolina House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, leading a team of 10 responsible for advising the committee on the drafting of the state’s annual budget and on legislation related to tax, fiscal policy and administration of state government. “Daniel is a first-class addition to our team and will undoubtedly help us navigate this new market,” said Cornerstone president Campbell Kaufman. The addition of South Carolina adds to the firm’s presence in early presidential nominating states, including Iowa and New Hampshire.
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ChicExecs PR + Retail Placement Agency, which is marking its 20th anniversary this month, now includes two sister companies, ExPR and Backhouse Agency, with a combined total of more than 80 staffers nationwide. ExPR works to position industry thought leaders in opportunities to showcase their expertise and provide insights on relevant topics. Backhouse Agency assists brands with ad placements across various platforms. Those services complement ChicExecs PR’s offerings, which include digital marketing, public relations, retail placement, and content production.
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Mad Fish Digital is acquiring brand-building marketing agency Grady Britton. The agencies will combine under the ownership of Mad Fish owners Corrie and Ben Herman, operating as strategic partners in the near term. Grady Sutton president Paige Campbell and creative director Andy Askren remain in their current roles. The acquisition brings together a combined team of 46 people distributed over 10 states and headquartered in Portland, OR. “From our perspective, combining Mad Fish and Grady Britton, an agency also committed to making real change with their work, has the greatest potential for savvy clients to make lasting impact in their categories,” said Ben Herman, Mad Fish CEO.
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.
