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WPP and Universal Music Group form a strategic partnership that will combine UMG’s family of artists and labels, as well as its global data and insights team, with WPP’s creative scale and client network. The partnership will give WPP clients the opportunity to connect with UMG artists and their music, plus access to the company’s music catalog. WPP and UMG will also work together to responsibly explore new ways that AI can better help brands and artists connect. "Music is becoming an even more powerful cultural force, and technology is rewriting how we experience it,” said WPP chief technology officer Stephan Pretorius. “This partnership with UMG will allow us to leverage emerging technologies and data insights to create truly innovative music-driven campaigns for our clients, shaping the future of brand engagement.”
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Marathon Strategies releases its newly updated Meet The Freshmen guide to the 119th Congress. The nonpartisan report details the positions every new member has taken on the issues that will define the incoming Congress—from pledges on economic reform and immigration to commitments on foreign policy and health care. It is designed to help communicators prepare for the policy debates that are set to drive the political agenda in 2025. Recent additions to the guide include Representatives Derek Tran (CA-45) and Adam Gray (CA-13).
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Signal Group, a DC-based public affairs firm, releases the Right-Wing Media Map, a comprehensive analysis of the conservative media landscape in America. The map shows how outlets outside the traditional mainstream are shaping broader coverage and discourse around politics and policy today. It is broken down into three categories across the conservative ideological spectrum: Far-Right, Conservative Right and Traditional Right, as well as an assessment of the social media platforms used by the conservative movement. In addition to describing each outlet, the map also identifies the key personalities behind them. “These are the outlets read by Republicans in congress, their staff, and the leaders of the media ecosystem shaping the America First movement,” said Signa Group director Julian Graham, who led the research for this analysis. Graham will be hosting a webinar on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 1pm to discuss the findings of the analysis in more detail.
Page launches the Polansky Future Leaders Fund, which was established through a gift from 2025 Page Hall of Fame inductee and former Weber Shandwick Global CEO Andy Polansky... Ruder Finn reintroduces its website, ruderfinn.com, which will now feature a large language model (LLM) as its primary user interface... Higher Plane Media is launched by former Sloane & Company CEO Darren Brandt.
Champion, which specializes in restaurant, franchise and consumer brands, opens a Miami office, adding to its operations in Dallas and Los Angeles... Violet PR, a Montclair, NJ-based firm that focuses on economic development, commercial real estate and place branding, opens a second office on Park Avenue South in New York... Inflection Point, a founder-led, senior growth systems partner for startups and growth-stage businesses, launches... PRSA announces the recipients of its inaugural Women of Impact Awards. Honorees honorees were recognized during the PRSA Women of Impact Summit & Awards at the Union League Club of Chicago.
FleishmanHillard is shuttering its 20-member Dublin office as Omnicom Public Relations reorganizes its global operations... Vested acquires Watermark, a D.C.-based public affairs and special situations firm.... Matter earns two Pinnacle Awards 2026 Marketing & Communications honors for its clients.
Quad/Graphics launches Direct, a Quad Agency to help marketers create, execute and measure direct marketing campaigns in one connected offering... InnoVision Marketing Group SVP/senior creative director Giselle Campos and SVP/general manager Alanna Markey are among the first-ever winners of the San Diego Business Journal’s Indispensables Awards, which recognizes professionals who make the greatest impact within their organizations and across the San Diego business community... Park Place Technologies, an IT infrastructure services firm that works with Feintuch Communications, releases the second episode of its “The Savvy CIO” podcast. 
Ripley PR is named a silver winner in the TITAN American Business Awards’ Outstanding PR Campaign category... Excellera, a corporate-advisory firm, came in at number one in deal count, as well as fourth in deal value, in Mergermarket’s list of top EMEA firms... Thunderly is telling the stories of military veterans who transferred the discipline, organization and leadership skills developed in service to their country into successful post-military careers as franchise business owners, as part of its year-long "American Dreamers: The Stories of Franchising" effort.
