Spin the Agencies of Record

“The shelf life of the average trade book is somewhere between milk and yogurt.”—Calvin Trillin Following a summer-long search, Chobani has named two new agency partners: Droga5, which will lead advertising and marketing efforts, and Weber Shandwick, which will guide public relations and social engagement strategy. (Chobani, as we reported last week, recently tackled some PR challenges with a successful follow-up campaign.) Throughout the process, both agencies demonstrated deep strategic thinking and creativity along with a profound understanding of our brand, values and vision. Peter McGuinness, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer at Chobani, says: "...from Weber Shandwick, we excitedly anticipate a deeply integrated communications approach that will activate across PR, social, internal communications and more. Throughout this search, Droga5 and Weber Shandwick have come to the table with a clear vision for the brand and breakthrough communications that will be instrumental in helping us go to the next level. We cannot wait to get to work.” “Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.”—Luis Bunuel GO Veggie!, a 30-year innovator and leader in alternative cheese products, has selected Haberman of Minneapolis to handle its corporate and product public relations after a competitive review. “I am very impressed with Haberman’s level of expertise with consumer engagement. Our new agency will offer GO Veggie! solid insights and proven success with many admired natural and traditional grocery brands,” said Jamie Schapiro, director of marketing for GO Veggie!. “The agency’s ability to activate big, community-engaging ideas and develop emotional connections with consumers through storytelling and content generation resonates deeply with us — this is a perfect cultural and business fit.” “Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”—Richard P. Fenyman Traditional public relations is dead; businesses need a new PR model that integrates the right messages with the right media in the right channels, essentially becoming media companies for their prospects and customers. To meet this challenge, HB Agency, an integrated marketing and public relations firm, has acquired Fresh Ground, a public relations and social media agency, to evolve an approach to PR that delivers on the promises of both inbound and outbound communications. Fresh Ground’s approach to PR was built upon a beyond-the-hits strategy, defining story lifecycle from conception to placement to social sharing. Adding Fresh Ground’s process to HB’s storytelling capabilities creates a practice ready to change how PR is done and help clients become the media companies they need to be to drive business results. “We believe the future of PR is in building media companies,” said Chuck Tanowitz, Fresh Ground co-founder and vice president of editorial content at HB. “There’s a widening gap in businesses’ ability to connect with their audiences for many reasons – fragmentation, noise, varied influencers, social chatter.” “The HB/Fresh Ground team will help clients ensure their voices are unified throughout the many different vehicles and channels they use,” said Todd Van Hoosear, who co-founded Fresh Ground with Tanowitz and now serves as vice president of PR and stakeholder engagement at HB. “A press release, blog post, infographic, Vine, newsletter – these are not ‘one-and-done’ communications tools. They work together to tell a compelling story and reach buyers and influencers.”

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Spin the Agencies of Record

James F. Thompson

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James F. Thompson