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| Kristen Bryan |
Raven Public Relations, a Nashville-based firm that works with creative companies in the advertising sector, acquires PR consultancy KBPR. KBPR founder Kristen Bryan will join Raven as EVP, group account director. Raven says it will benefit from Bryan’s experience in creative agency PR and her track record of securing national recognition for clients. Her focus on storytelling, media relations, and her passion for working with female-led businesses is intended to strengthen Raven’s existing offerings. “I first met Kristen working as an ad industry reporter, and our relationship grew because I knew I could trust her word,” said Raven co-founder Matt Van Hoven. “We’ve had so much success together it just made sense to take this step.”
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Brunner, an integrated marketing agency with offices in Pittsburgh and Atlanta, acquires Rakuten Advertising’s Performance Solutions group, which includes its paid search and programmatic planning and buying teams. Brunner will now serve as the performance solutions partner for Rakuten, providing digital media services to its clients in addition to extending its affiliate marketing opportunities to clients through Rakuten’s platform. The addition to Brunner bolsters its team, expanding both its size and scale and adding to its digital media, data engineering and data science capabilities. “With this acquisition, we will immediately begin integrating their expertise with our existing capabilities, so we are poised to deliver even greater value to our clients," said Brunner partner and chief revenue officer Dan Gbur.
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A new D S Simon study says that more than nine out 10 TV producers at news stations around the country are open to receiving pitches from PR people. The most popular topic of interest for those producers: health-related stories. More than three quarters (76 percent) of respondents said they were interested in getting pitches about health-related issues. Among those respondents, the most popular area was mental health, which was cited by 84 percent of them. Other top areas of interest were women’s health (78 percent), wellness care (71 percent) and children’s health (69 percent). Topics such as pharmaceutical advancements (44 percent) and alternative medicine (38 percent) were considerably less in demand. TV news producers also noted a shift in where they get their health-related content. A considerable majority (85 percent) said they prefer in-house spokespeople to third-party experts (15 percent). They also said they are cutting back on their use of network or syndicated health news feeds for their coverage. In addition, stations are depending much less on their own staffs to gather health-related information. Only 31 percent of the stations that had a dedicated medical or health reporter just three years ago still have someone filling that role. The online study was conducted via SurveyMonkey in February.
Havas acquires MUT, a Barcelona-based firm focused on experiential marketing and sustainable events... IPREX lauches its AI Task Force...D S Simon Media, one of the first companies to produce a satellite media tour, celebrates its 40th anniversary... Washington Women in Public Relations is sponsoring an event that shows communications pros who work with associations how they can get their messages across clearly, credibly and courageously. “How Associations Lead with Strategic Storytelling,” at 6 p.m. on July 16.
TEAM LEWIS starts up its AI Practice... Thunderly launches a year-long storytelling campaign focused on how franchising can provide a pathway to business ownership... JIN, a European communications consulting group, introduces "AI Campaigning", a corporate offering designed to model and anticipate stakeholder behavior.
Karsh Hagan and Madden Media join forces as KHM... Endeavor Communications opens an office in the Harbor Point neighborhood of Stamford, CT... Big Red Oak, a Toronto-based communications firm, and D.C. area-based PA firm New Hill Consulting have launched a joint service exclusively for companies in the nuclear energy sector... The Pollack Group has partnered with Brandi AI, a platform for enterprise brand intelligence, AI visibility and Generative Engine Optimization.
Real Chemistry acquires Spurwing Communications, which advises pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations—as well as clients across a broader range of industries—throughout APAC... 5W AI Communications (5WPR) is moving its headquarters from New York to Florida (Miami, Tampa)... Valence Communications, which will focus on biopharmaceutical companies, launches under Matt Middleman, who was founder and CEO at LifeSci Communications.
Moburst, which specializes in digital marketing and AI-powered solutions, acquires Amazon marketing agency Hyperzon... The Public Relations Global Network launches its Health Practice Group, which brings together more than 20 independent agencies across four continents to support health care, life sciences and pharma organizations... ICR’s newly released Q2 2026 SPAC Market Update & Outlook shows a healthy environment for IPOs... Red Banyan, a senior-level crisis management, litigation PR, and reputation management firm, makes its first appearance in the Chambers and Partners listings.
