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FINN Partners launches Canary for Crisis, an AI-powered crisis training platform that prepares communications teams to navigate today's chaotic media landscape. Developed in-house by FINN’s David Krejci, a veteran crisis expert and misinformation specialist, the platform introduces high-pressure scenarios that mirror the speed and complexity of modern reputational threats. It creates a range of scenarios that are virtually indistinguishable from how crises play out on and offline—teaching users how to respond to live pressure inquiries and social channels. Canary for Crisis also provides strategies for dealing with misinformation, trolls, deepfakes and other modern communications risks. “Canary for Crisis is a scrimmage for crisis teams. You get hit. You sweat. You make good plays and learn better ones. But more than anything, you come out better prepared for the real game,” said Krejci, who also leads media forensics at FINN Partners.
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KemperSports forms a partnership with Fire Pit Productions, which works clients in the golf, travel, destinations, architecture and experiences sectors. Fire Pit Productions will become a subsidiary of KemperSports and its founder Matt Ginella will serve as KemperSports’ chief storyteller. Fire Pit Productions will produce video and print content for KemperSports, in addition to serving such current clients as Youth on Course, Areté Collective, Pasatiempo, Meriwether Companies, Cross Harbor and Tourism Ireland. “Golf has a 500-year-plus history of great stories and legends, and no one is better at telling those stories and capturing the soul of the game than Matt Ginella,” said KemperSports CEO Steve Skinner.
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Deerfield Group, which works with healthcare and life sciences companies, acquires Triple Threat Communications, a New Jersey-based healthcare strategic marketing agency. TTC owner and managing partner Tim Frank will join Deerfield’s executive leadership team and continue to lead client business across the agency. The TTC acquisition is the latest strategic investment by Deerfield, including the successful integrations of Verge Scientific Communications and Embedded in 2022 and 2024, respectively. “The addition of TTC to Deerfield Group represents a significant step forward in our growth journey. With their strong track record of strategy, creative, and digital pharmaceutical marketing, we’re not only deepening our core capabilities but also expanding into new categories and forging relationships with a range of new clients,”said Deerfield CEO Frank Burrell.
RooneyPartners, a New York–based firm, launches Wealth Watch with Jim Pavia, a podcast featuring conversations with wealth advisors and investment professionals... Beehive Strategic Communication founder and CEO Lisa Hannum will transition executive leadership and ownership of the firm to long-time partners Nicki Gibbs, Ayme Zemke and Rebecca Martin beginning mid-year... MillionPodcasts, a podcast database for PR and comms teams doing guest-booking outreach, moves out of beta, where it pulled in 10,000 signups and 500 paid subscribers.
MACCO Group, a national business restructuring and financial advisory firm, launches a dedicated crisis communications and special situations practice... Anomaly, a Stagwell unit with 600 staff across its talent hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, Berlin and Shanghai, launches a Paris office... ASTRSK PR opens applications for its 8th Annual Pro Bono Contest. The contest awards one early-stage startup, founded by a woman, BIPOC, AAPI and/or LGBTQIA+ entrepreneur, with a full year of PR services valued at over $200K.
Highwire launches AcroAI, an agentic AI platform... FGS Global introduces a new brand identity... Coyne Public Relations puts an inclusive spin on Take Your Child to Work Day with its new “Take Your VIP to Work Day”... Marino SVP Jordan Isenstadt is elected to the board of directors of the National Cannabis Industry Association.
CIVIC, a New York-based brand experience agency, acquires strategic communications consultancy Wave Kilo... Hotwire Global reaches an agreement with Morning Consult to give Hotwire Global instant access to Morning Consult’s proprietary dataset... The Public Relations Student Society of America announced its 2026–2027 International Committee... Avenue Z is named a Shopify Platinum Partner, the highest tier of Shopify’s Service Partner Program.
