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Salesforce signs a definitive agreement to acquire Qualified, which provides agentic AI marketing solutions. The deal brings Qualified’s real-time AI agents directly into Salesforce’s Agentforce platform. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027 (which starts Feb. 1, 2026), is intended to let customers quickly deploy fully featured marketing agents. “As Salesforce alumni, my co-founders and I have always built our products to deeply integrate with Salesforce,” said Qualified CEO and co-founder Kraig Swensrud. “Joining forces with Salesforce is a natural evolution that will allow us to bring the power of agentic marketing to the enterprise.”
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Factors.ai, a B2B demand generation and measurement platform and LinkedIn Marketing Partner, releases a report showing that while almost seven out of 10 (68.3 percent) CMOs are upping their digital marketing budgets, the way in which those budgets are being employed to bring in customers is undergoing a pronounced shift. The report notes that paid search functions are “under severe stress,” with more than half of the companies surveyed reporting a drop in paid traffic. It also notes that buyer visits to company websites are taking a hit, with 67 percent of respondents reporting a decline in traffic to their sites. The main takeaway is that brand recognition and consumer trust efforts are become more important, with social media platforms taking on a pivotal role in how buying decisions are made. According to the report, 92 percent of buyers now have a preferred vendor before formal evaluation. “Conventional tactics that dominated the past decade like gated content, webinars, lead capture tactics and liner funnels are straining under the weight of a transformed buying landscape,” said Factors.ai co-founder Praveen Das. “Buyers now control their own journey, often entering conversations already selected.”
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Jarrard, a healthcare strategic communications and change management firm, launches its Children's Hospitals and Pediatric Healthcare specialty, expanding the firm's academic health systems practice. The new specialty focuses on the needs of pediatric organizations, from preserving Medicaid funding and elevating community health to strengthening brand, communications and philanthropy. It will support independent children's hospitals, system-owned pediatric hospitals and pediatric health services organizations. Areas covered by the specialty will include issues, advocacy and public affairs; brand strategy and growth; change management and internal communications; philanthropy and donor engagement; and research and market assessments. "Children's hospitals are highly trusted and sit at the heart of their communities," said Jarrard founding partner and president Anne Hancock Toomey. "Our new specialty ensures these leaders have a mission-driven partner who understands both the nuance of pediatric care and the broader healthcare environment.”
Real Chemistry launches RC Resolve, a healthcare advisory practice... Seven Letter, a bipartisan strategic communications firm, adds offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Huntsville... GMMB founding partner David Mitchell died on Jan. 2 at 75. Mitchell’s career in communications began in June 1978, when he joined the staff of the United Auto Workers as assistant to the director of public relations and publications.
Berns Communications Group expands its advisory services and rebrands as Berns & Co... DVV Media International, a B2B media and events company serving the transport and logistics markets, sells its Road portfolio of products to Mark Allen Group... MAD Global Strategy of New Jersey launches a Washington presence. 
Motio is launched by former BPD chief strategy & innovation officer Sasha Boghosian and Ryan Colaianni, who was CCO at BPD as well as an SVP at Edelman... PMG acquires Digital Voices, an influencer marketing agency with a team of 70 employees across London, New York and Costa Rica... Gregory
Marketing Maven signs on to work with AI-native application platform Cogzia... Curtiss Partners, a consultancy dedicated to elevating executive communications, strengthening leadership effectiveness, and translating complex strategies into clear, actionable narratives, launches... Origin & Oak Creative, a marketing and communications agency specializing in culturally competent, community-centered messaging for B2B clients, opens its doors.
