Hewlett Packard Printer and PC Business sending out RFP
Hewlett Packard (HP) is thought to be represented currently by two Omnicom giants – Porter Novelli and FleishmanHillard, receiving an estimated $10 million in PR revenues from that part of the HP business dealing with their printers and PCs. asked several global PR networks to respond to their lengthy RFI, and agencies can vie for work on the corporate and product levels – one or both. HP is focusing on help with current trends and issues, relevant experiences, communications strategy, and new thinking.
Along with the possible change in PR representations, HP’s CMO, Antonio Lucio, recently requested the five agencies that are part of HP to start making changes to their current workforce by hiring more minorities and women.
Pure Communications acquired by W2O Marketing Group
Pure Communications is a life science PR firm based in North Carolina and with a second office in Cambridge Massachusetts. They were just acquired by W2O Group, a marketing and communications network. Pure has approximately 30 employees and was founded in 2004 by Andrea Johnston. Pure is being combined with BrewLife, W2O’s analytics communications and marketing agency and will be given a new name, but that has not been announced.
APO Establishes Offices in the Middle East
African Press Organization (APO), a press release distribution organization in Africa, has opened a new distribution center to serve the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA). Their new MENA Wire Service will provide content to social media, blogs, media, and websites in 18 countries in those regions reaching as many as 250 million people as they work in partnership with such organizations as Thomson Reuters Terminal, Bloomberg Terminal, Dow Jones Factiva, SyndiGate, Lexis Nexis, and MENAFN.
Currently APO is the only press release wire distribution and monitoring supplier in Africa. They have offices in Dubai, Switzerland, and Senegal and were founded in 2007.
Two Montreal PR Firms Join Forces
Cohn & Wolfe Montreal and NATIONAL PR in Montreal merged in early September. Both agencies are part of RES PUBLICA Consulting Group, and the combo will pool their deep talent base making them a key PR player in the region.
Cohn & Wolfe’s other offices in Canada will remain separate from the new company and continue as part of Cohn & Wolfe’s global force, which is headquartered in New York City. NATIONAL has been an established PR force for 40 years across Canada.