PRWeek US News

MIAMI: The brpr Group recently added two new clients: it will now serve as social media AOR for both Univision Radio and online coupon site CoupTessa.

TEMPE, AZ: Calibrus, a third-party verification service, hired EJM Advisors as its IR firm.

As last month's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatens to scare off vacationers from beaches in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, tourism departments in those states are using social media to provide user-generated updates via photos and text.

CHICAGO: Whirlpool is promoting the official release of its Vantage washer and dryer pair through technology-themed positioning and a PR launch effort.

NEW YORK: Propheta Communications added three new clients: humanitarian aid organization Unified Help; e-reader platform vBookz; and online music marketing company ToneFuse.

LOS ANGELES: Kingsford charcoal is expanding its outreach to the Hispanic community, with help from ESPN Deportes.

PARIS: Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG) has acquired London-based, healthcare PR agency, Resolute Communications.

NEW YORK: Trimline, which produces a softer version of recovery collars for pets, hired Whitegate PR as AOR.

James Kelly, creative director at GolinHarris, speaks to PRWeek about his new position and what it means for the agency.

NEW YORK: Edelman has launched DJE Science, a specialty unit which will provide communications services for science-intensive businesses and organizations. Lynn Hanessian, formerly CEO of the Zeno Group, is leading the group as president.

BERKELEY, CA: Teena Touch PR has added five new accounts to its client roster.

WASHINGTON: APCO Worldwide hired Anita McBride as a senior counselor with the Global Political Strategies group and member of the agency's International Advisory Council.

NEW YORK: A national public health organization is using a social media campaign to raise awareness and encourage parents to ask about mental health screenings for their teenage children.

NEW YORK: Gibbs & Soell has launched a "greentech and sustainability" division focused on providing PR counsel to businesses with green technologies and sustainable business principles and services.

NEW YORK: Hill & Knowlton is merging its New York marketing communications and digital practices into one group. The new team, called connected marketing, will serve the agency's consumer marketing clients.

NEW YORK: Larry Thomas, former COO at Medialink, has launched Latergy, a video PR and marketing agency that will connect clients with production, technology, and media partners.

NEW YORK: Scarpasa, a new online shoe boutique, hired Morris & King Company as PR AOR.

NEW YORK: The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF), which works to increase public awareness of key fiscal challenges, hired Loretta Ucelli as VP of communications and public affairs.

NEW YORK: Social media has become more widespread as a b-to-b tool for the legal profession, but a generational gap still exists, according to a survey of in-house counsel by Greentarget Strategic Communications.

CHICAGO: Sears' Kenmore brand hired Zeno as its PR agency, confirmed Tom Aiello, division VP of PR for Sears Holdings.