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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.”
Acceleration Community of Companies, a network of independent media, marketing, and communications agencies including DKC, Stripe Theory and MKG, expands ACC Intelligence... Crosby Marketing Communications CEO Raymond Crosby is named to the Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 Business Hall of Fame Class... Superson, a Helsinki-based agency with hubs in Amsterdam, Toronto and Singapore, is expanding its footprint in North America with the opening of a Toronto office. 
MMGY and Las Vegas-based R&R partners are joining forces under parent company MMGY Global... HarrisQuest, the brand and reputation intelligence platform from The Harris Poll, launches HarrisQuest MCP (Model Context Protocol), which lets users easily connect an AI assistant to external data and tools... Curious Orange, a Dublin-based firm that offers strategy, creative design, digital performance marketing, and AI-enabled workflows, launches Curious Orange Live, a dedicated live experiential marketing agency.
The Messina Group is rebranding as Fortius Global and opening an office in London. Jim Messina, who launched the firm in 2013 after serving as campaign manager for Obama for America, will serve as CEO of Fortius Global and continue to set the vision, strategy, and execution for Fortius and its companies... The New York Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute names the new members of its NextGen Committee for the 2026-2027 term... Billion Dollar Boy, a social and influencer marketing agency with offices in New York and London, acquires Santa Monica, CA-headquartered Creator Authority.
Slowey McManus Communications is receiving a majority stake investment from Adi Sarosa, founder and managing partner of AA24 Communications... Seven Letter, a Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan strategic communications and public affairs firm, marks its 20th anniversary... Jack Morton launches a new global brand identity.
Peregrine, which specializes in asset and wealth management, adds a Los Angeles office to its locations in New York and London... The Dilenschneider Group, which was founded by Hill & Knowlton CEO Robert Dilenschneider, marks 35 years in business... Meltwater launches Intelligence is Always in Style, a marketing campaign based on a short-film series starring actress Kim Cattrall.
