By Denise Grayes, Business Wire Nashville
Here are the latest changes and updates in the PR industry. To learn more about each news item, simply click the hyperlink. Have your own update to include? Let us know!
Austin
Independent agency Drumroll announced that it has named Andy Davidhazy as Creative Director. Article
Charlotte
French/West/Vaughan has been selected by the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau as its creative services agency of record following an 18-agency competitive review. Article
Chicago
Public Communications Inc. announced Craig Pugh will join the national integrated communications firm as president. Article
Cleveland
Crisis specialist Hennes Paynter Communications has rebranded as Hennes Communications following the departure of former partner Barbara Paynter, who is launching her own consultancy. Along with the rebranding, the firm has promoted Nora Jacobs to senior vice president at the firm. Article
Dallas
Furniture retailer American Signature has selected The Richards Group as agency of record. Article
DC
Purple Strategies has appointed Robert Fronk as managing director of reputation strategy. Article
Maroon PR is working with Big League Chew bubblegum, owned by Lincolnshire, Ill.- based, Ford Gum & Machine Co. Article
Highgate at Seven Oaks in Bakersfield, Calif. has selected Buffalo Brand Invigoration Group to direct a public relations program. Article
MediaDC announced the hire of Elizabeth Sheldon as National Account Director. Article
ConnellyWorks has announced the appointment of Margo Dunn as Director of Marketing. Article
Stratacomm LLC announced hiring Karyn G. Le Blanc as a Senior Vice President in its Washington, D.C. office. Article
TradeMark East Africa has selected Agenda as its North American public affairs agency to advance its mission of growing East Africa’s prosperity through trade. Article
Detroit
Eisbrenner Public Relations has promoted Tricia Marion from assistant account executive to account executive. Article
The 2015 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, a subsidiary of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, is working up with digital and social specialist OTTO Detroit, Franco Public Relations Group and students from Wayne State University-who will elevate the social media discussion-to bring the race experience to a global audience through social media. Article
Los Angeles
Global nutrition company Herbalife has named Ric Hobby as senior vice president for global government relations; Megan Jordan as senior vice president for global corporate communications; and Randall Popelka as vice president, government and industry affairs. Article
Joanna Massey has been named to the newly created position of vice president, corporate communications and investor relations at Lionsgate. Article
Miami
rbb Public Relations has been named agency of record for Sawgrass Mills. Article
Liquor marketer Bacardi is reviewing below-the-line marketing duties, including PR, across its North American brand portfolio, after a similar exercise consolidated creative and media with Omnicom Group agencies earlier this year. Article
The Buzz Agency has added new clients including the US Immigration Fund, Habit Burger, Boca West Country Club, Sunflower Creative Arts, Aviation Week Events and Clive Daniel Interiors. Article
Minneapolis
Nicki Gibbs has been promoted to senior vice president, strategy at Beehive PR. Article
Beehive PR has added three new communications strategists to its team. New hires include account director Abigail Greenheck, account director Ericka Webb and account coordinator Maggie Pendleton. Article
Nashville
Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations has named Rebecca Frazer the 2015 Guthrie/Mayes PR Student of the Year. Frazer, a junior at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky., was chosen among a strong group of applicants from Kentucky colleges and universities who were nominated for this position. Article
Newport Beach
Global Results Communications (GRC) announced the addition of several new technology companies including mGage, CellTrust and Numerex to its list of clients. Article
ASICS America Corporation today announced it has named United Entertainment Group its new US public relations agency of record. Article
New York
APCO Worldwide and Text100 have launched a joint offering focused on digital healthcare. Article
Kathy Cripps, longtime president of the PR Council, will step down from her position by the end of the year. Article
Ruder Finn announced that John McInerney will assume a new role as Director, Healthcare Digital Strategy. Article
Utilidata has hired Global Strategy Group as its agency of record for communications and public relations. Article
Samsung Electronics has extended its relationship with FleishmanHillard, handing the firm a US corporate PR brief following a review that took place earlier this year. Article
Jesse Comart has been named vice president, global head of communications, at MediaMath. Article
Turner Public Relations had added vice president of tourism Emma de Vadder. Article
R&J Public Relations has added John De Bellis as director of business development. Article
The Halo Group has hired James Best as senior vice president, marketing and business development. Article
Coyne has been selected as agency of record by global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland to provide public relations strategy, ideation and program activation in North America. Article
Finn Partners has been retained by Cinnabon as agency of record following a competitive review. Article
United Entertainment Group has been selected as the communications agency of record for Speedo USA, a division of PVH Corp. Article
MWW Public Relations announced the addition of U.S. Bank to its client roster. Article
The Halo Group will be launching international beach chic Spanish accessory brand Flossy Shoes into the US marketplace with an integrated social media program. Article
Turner Public Relations has added Waldorf Astoria Park City to its client roster. Article
Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR has added a new client, Dr. Joshua Perlman, co-founder of the NYC Smile Spa in midtown New York. Article
Glass Lantern Public Relations has been named the public relations agency of record for CORAnet Solutions. Article
Wearable maker Polar has brought on Max Borges as it looks to gain US market traction in the popular activity tracker space. Article
Ogilvy PR has hired Robyn Massey to the newly-created role of global chief communications officer. Article
June marks the 14th anniversary of the launching of M&A/consulting firm Gould+Partners. Article
Finn Partners announced it has been retained by Cinnabon as agency of record following a competitive review. Article
Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR has added Z Skin Cosmetics to its client roster. Article
Philadelphia
Brian Communications announced four new senior leaders to the team who bring extensive communications and business experience to their roles at the agency. Article
Flackable has been selected as the integrated communications agency of record by Vesticor Advisors. Article
Flackable Promotes Hailey Lanier to Account Executive Article
Swordfish Communications has launched a new service that will help organizations reach out to journalists important to them, and perhaps even generate their own press coverage. Article
Flackable has promoted account coordinator Hailey Lanier to account executive. Article
Phoenix
In business for more than 17 years, Off Madison Ave continues to experience tremendous growth and is poised for another successful year with the addition of eight prominent client accounts and seven new staffers. Article
San Diego
Elevator announced it has acquired Copper Blue Creative effective June 1. Article
San Francisco
OutCast’s Helena Maus has been named North America CEO of sister agency Bite as it continues to recover from a bout of management shakeups and financial turmoil. Article
Wearable maker Fitbit has brought on FleishmanHillard and Burson-Marsteller as the company prepares for its IPO while also facing legal troubles. Article
Glass Lantern Public Relations has been named the public relations agency of record for CORAnet Solutions, Inc. Article
Glassdoor announced Dawn Lyon has been named vice president of corporate affairs. Article
Seattle
Beauty and grooming retailer Birchbox announced the promotion of Claire Paull to Chief Communications Officer. Article
Waggener Edstrom Communications has appointed Kass Sells as the agency’s president of North America (NA). Article
Silicon Valley
Relypsa has appointed Charlotte Arnold as vice president, corporate communications. Article
PayPal has consolidated international PR duties covering EMEA and Asia-Pacific to Edelman, the Holmes Report can reveal. Article
eBay head of comms Alan Marks is stepping aside for Dan Tarman to take over as chief communications officer as the company prepares to split with PayPal and readies for a new CEO to take the helm. Article
Atlanta & Nashville
Ignite Creative Group announced its new office location in downtown Cumming, Ga. along with the expansion of a second office in Birmingham, Ala. Article
Chicago & LA
Porter Novelli announced two new managing directors in its Southern California and Chicago offices. Linda Martin, partner, will lead the Porter Novelli team in Southern California, while Adam Scholder, senior vice president, takes on leadership of the Chicago team. Article
DC & NY
SKDKnickerbocker has added former congressional reporter Kate Nocera to its Washington public affairs team and political and communications veterans Jaclyn Rothenberg and Maureen Shanahan to its New York office. Article
New York & San Francisco
Global Gateway Advisors and LyonSHARE Communications Group have announced the formation of a strategic alliance to expand each firm’s resources to better support their clients. Article
Seattle & Toronto
Waggener Edstrom Communications and Canadian-based independent Environics Communications have forged a new partnership. Article
Hong Kong
Following a six-month project, British retailer Jack Wills has engaged AKA Asia on a retainer basis for media relations, influencer relations and partnership management. Article
London
Following a competitive pitch, Fishburn has been appointed by joint venture partners Lend Lease and LCR. Article
Hill+Knowlton Strategies has hired public affairs specialist Henry Groundes-Peace as an associate director within the financial and professional services team. Article
Chris Lawrence has joined Bite‘s leadership team as creative director. Article
Colgate-Palmolive has selected Cohn & Wolfe for its new Dutch Sanex PR campaign. Article
Greene King has chosen Hudson Sandler to handle its trade media relations programme. Article
Broadgate Mainland has appointed Gareth David as executive director. Article
Pop Brixton has appointed agency W to handle its launch. Article
PROI Worldwide has added KISS Communications of Cambridge as its fourth partner agency in the United Kingdom. Article
Live and on-demand TV service enabler TV2U has appointed Babel PR to drive a multi-market brand awareness and media relations campaign for both its B2B and B2C offerings. Article
Hunter Public Relations is expanding internationally with the opening of its first office outside the United States. Article
H+K Strategies has brought together 15 media players, including LinkedIn, BuzzFeed, Twitter and Brandwatch, to form the first in a series of publishing boards. Article
A new association has been launched to accompany the increasing convergence of marketing and technology in the UK. Article
Group managing director David Wilson is leaving Bell Pottinger after 15 years with the UK PR firm. Article
Paris
To increase its presence on the African Continent, PROI Worldwide has added Levanter Africa in Kenya to its partnership. Article
Business Communications Agency has opened a new office in Israel, offering marketing and communications services. Article
Edelman has hired FleishmanHillard’s Esther Busscher to lead its Brussels office. Article
WPP PR firms H+K Strategies and Buchanan have joined forces to launch a corporate and financial comms consultancy that focuses on the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Article
3BL Media announced the acquisition of Dunstans Publishing Limited. Article
Sydney
Nestle has appointed APCO Worldwide to help it recover from reputational damage incurred in a recent crisis over the company’s Maggi noodle brand, according to the Economic Times of India. Article
United Spirits Limited has named Abanti Sankaranarayanan as business head for luxury and corporate relations, India. Article
SPAG Asia has added an office in Mumbai to its headquarters in Gurgaon. Article
Sony India has awarded PR duties to Avian Media following a competitive review that featured a number of competing firms. Article
Sharif Rangekar has moved into a chairman role at Integral PR, after serving as CEO for more than a decade. Article
Cohn & Wolfe India CEO Rafi Khan is stepping down from his role, with the firm promoting Megha Sharma to lead its operations in the country. Article
Tokyo
Ogilvy & Mather Japan announced the appointment of Abi Sekimitsu as Content Director of OgilvyOne K.K. Article
Toronto
Lifestyle Delivery Systems has named Tim Hamilton as corporate communications executive. Article
OneUp Sports announced that it has hired John McCauley as Vice President, Content and Strategy, a new role for the company. Article
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