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af&co., a San Francisco-based hospitality marketing and public relations agency founded by Andrew Freeman, is marking its 20th anniversary by expanding its national presence, particularly in Southern California and key travel markets. It is also investing in digital storytelling, content creation and emerging technologies including AI-driven insights. The agency has launched more than 500 restaurants, hotels and lifestyle brands and helped shape the hospitality identity of the Bay Area and beyond. Freeman is also co-founder, along longtime af&co. colleague Candace MacDonald, of Carbonate, a branding, insights and creative strategy focused firm. “Restaurants bring people together in ways few places can,” he said. “That belief has guided af&co. for twenty years, and it continues to inspire everything we do.”
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Notified launches Syndicated Articles, a Content OS workflow capability that builds on the reach of GlobeNewswire press releases to amplify corporate stories across thousands of trusted U.S. news sites and improve how brands appear in AI-generated answers. Syndicated Articles, which are separate from a press release and follow a more objective, newsroom-style format, will be promoted organically to readers across media outlets, with the aim of boosting earned coverage of a brand’s story. The capability will be available to GlobeNewswire clients beginning Dec. 8, as either a one-time add-on when issuing a press release or part of an annual subscription package. Beginning Q1 2026, it will be natively built into Notified’s PR platform. Notified will also offer optional editorial services to help develop, refine and optimize an article. “Our new feature within the Content OS workflow helps clients take the structured core of a GlobeNewswire press release and extend it with companion editorial content that lives longer, reaches farther and improves how their brand and their story show up in AI-generated answers,” said Notified president and CEO Erik Carlson.
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Crosby Marketing Communications selects four students from Anne Arundel Community College in Anne Arundel County, MD, to participate in its Crosby Marketing Scholars Program. Founded in 2022, the $100,000 program offers AACC students a two-year scholarship providing financial support to pursue studies related to marketing, public relations, creative writing, graphic design, multimedia/video production and web design. Students also receive ongoing guidance from AACC professors and are paired with a Crosby staff member who provides mentoring and career advice. At the end of a student’s two-year participation in the program, they may be considered for internship opportunities at Crosby to gain additional professional experience. “Supporting these students who are the next generation of talent in the advertising and public relations industry is really rewarding,” said Crosby Marketing Communications president and CEO Ray Crosby.
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.
ICR releases a report that says the SPAC IPO market has been trending upward—and is likely to stay on that track... Washington Women in PR is sponsoring an April 15 event that looks at how women can change the dynamics that often keep them in lower-visibility positions through strategic self-advocacy and organizational awareness... Life Science Cares Boston, an organization supported by LaVoieHeathScience, will convene leaders, employees and partners from across the life sciences industry for its annual Impact Breakfast on April 13 at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.
