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Ballard Partners forms a strategic partnership with Forward Global, a commercial and geopolitical risk advisory and public affairs firm with offices across the US, Europe and Africa. Ballard will establish a presence in Paris and Brussels as part of the Ballard Global Alliance and Forward partner Mike Rubino will take on the additional role of partner at Ballard to launch the joint endeavor. The partnership brings together Forward's strength in risk management, public affairs, and strategic advisory and Ballard's deep government relations expertise, creating a fully integrated platform to help clients address political, regulatory, and reputational challenges worldwide. "This structure ensures clients get consistent strategic advice whether they're navigating Capitol Hill or the European Parliament, and without the typical coordination headaches of working with separate firms,” said Rubino. “By joining forces, we're expanding what each firm can deliver and ensuring clients have the expertise and execution they need, wherever they need it."
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Golin launches First Answer, an AI visibility platform focused on giving brands more control over how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI systems describe them. The new offering delivers comprehensive AI optimization through three integrated components. Benchmark analyzes brand presence across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI platforms, providing visibility rankings, competitive positioning, sentiment evaluation, and identification of media outlets, social sites and owned pages that drive citations. Optimize aims to enhance content and earned media strategy to increase positive AI visibility. Defend protects brands against misinformation and negative sentiment. "When ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity answers questions about your brand, up to 90% of their citations come from earned media sources—not your website,” said Golin New York EVP and AI lead Jack Barbour. “First Answer ensures AI platforms see optimized, accurate, and strategically positioned content, giving our clients clear advantages."
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5by5, a Nashville-based marketing agency, acquires Heurisay, which specializes in corporate storytelling, brand awareness and reputation management. The acquisition will expand 5by5's capabilities, providing integrated communications and public relations services to its clients. Herurisay founder Kristin Faulder will join 5by5’s new PR division as VP of public relations. Prior to founding Heurisay, Faulder worked for such agencies as Schneider Associates (now the Belfort Group), InkHouse and ReviveHealth (now part of BPD). “Our proven approach to brand awareness, thought leadership and reputation management is a natural addition to the work 5by5 has been doing for more than a decade,” said Faulder.
Wawner Strategies, which was founded by former APCO director/VP Kat Wawner in 2022, relaunches as The Category... Metro Transportation Management & Design, a Washington, DC-based transportation planning and operations management services firm, and Relentless Awareness, a communications and creative strategy firm, form a strategic alliance... Luna PR, a Dubai-based communications and marketing agency that specializes in emerging and disruptive technologies, expands its U.S. footprint.
Matter relaunches its local marketing services, which will focus on providing approachable, agency-caliber marketing programs to help smaller-scale businesses grow in the age of AI... Publicis Sports, the sport and culture marketing arm of Publicis Group, is collaborating with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and 3 Arts Sports on the launch of TEKTA, a Name, Image and Likeness consulting and activation offering... The 23rd Annual International Business Awards announces its Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners for 2026.
The Pollack Group launches its Brand Visibility Index, a research series that examines how brands are represented, ranked and cited by generative AI platforms... PARC Solutions, a New York- and London-based advisory firm, forms a strategic collaboration with Guillot Consulting, a provider of lobbying, government relations, political advocacy, and business development services... SalterMitchell PR, a Tallahassee, FL-based firm, wins two 2026 Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Awards.
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.
