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| John Raffeto (left) and David Herman |
Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications has acquired MIX PR, which will be folded into the firm. MIX principals Hally Wax and Matthew Mors will become senior vice presidents at RH Strategic, based in its Seattle office. The acquisition, intended to deepen the agency’s expertise in cybersecurity, enterprise and emerging technology, will grow its staff to 30 professionals. Wax and Mors founded MIX in 2009 as a spin-out of the former Seattle Text 100 office. It has worked with such brands as the PCI Security Standards Council, Cisco, Malwarebytes and Websense. “The addition of the MIX PR team, combined with our own organic growth, sets us up well to serve our clients’ evolving communications neds,” said John Raffetto, RH Strategic co-founder and CEO John Raffeto. Rick Gould, managing partner of M&A Advisory firm Gould+Partners, advised the buyers and facilitated the transaction.
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Brodeur Partners is launching Active Purpose, a data-driven diagnostic aimed at helping B2B organizations improve their CSR-sustainability communications and reporting efforts. The AP diagnostic will include four key support areas: issues & insights benchmarking, strategic blueprinting, communications campaign planning and stakeholder mapping. The proprietary offering will also include a series of research reports supported by a strategic academic partnership with Baruch College’s Weissman Center for International Business, and its annual CSR-Sustainability Monitor. Brodeur’s first benchmarking research report is scheduled to be released in mid-March. Headquartered in Boston, Brodeur Partners has four U.S. offices and operates in 33 countries globally.
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| Kathy Keating |
ProsInComms, an online community designed to help freelancers and communications pros in the tech industry find jobs, access discounts on software and services, and get small business advice has been launched by FastStart PR founder and principal Kathy Keating. Before founding FastStart, Keating was responsible for global communications, influencer relations, content, M&A communications, and agency management at IBM. The ProsInComms team offers assistance in accounting and finance, employment law, human resources, communications and marketing. Hiring companies and agencies that work in the tech sector are also encouraged to join, post jobs and network with the platform’s members.
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.
While PR pros stationed at in-house comms. teams and those working for agencies share many of the same objectives, they also have markedly different top priorities, according to a recent report.
Edelman is cutting 240 employees or about four percent of its workforce to cope with the cooling down of the PR sector, according to a memo from CEO Richard Edelman.
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