Detroit agency network Project has acquired Brooklyn PR shop Praytell, a four-year-old firm with outposts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin.
Robert Vallee, CEO of the advertising and marketing-focused Project, said the group has wanted to add a PR firm for some time before landing on Praytell, which he praised for its “contemporary skills and digital smarts.”
The 45-staffer Praytell is led by Andy Pray, along with managing partners Beth Cleveland and Claudio Taratuta, who remain in place.
Pray was a senior VP for Ruder Finn and its RFI Studios unit. He started out with Antenna Group and Waggener Edstrom after working in journalism at KPIX.
In a post on Medium, Pray said, “We get to keep the band together while building it out at the same time.”
An annual industry survey suggests that PR firms are doing more with less, and that agencies’ largest clients are now accounting for an increased percentage of their total business.
Burson today officially launched its new brand and client offerings to complete the merger of BCW and Hill & Knowlton.
DJE Holdings, parent of Edelman and Zeno, launches RUTH as an independent shop named after Ruth Edelman, mental health advocate, wife and longtime business partner of Dan Edelman.
New York City PR firms make up the largest slice of O'Dwyer's 147 firm overall ranking with 33 of 40 in the New York/New Jersey area either calling Manhattan their home or having a presence there.
Subject Matter+Kivvit, which joined forces in May, has rebranded as Avoq, an integrated shop with more than 200 professionals in Washington, New York, Asbury Park (NJ), Miami and Chicago.
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