In the News with Shift Comm, Finn and Lane, Edelman, and Sard Verbinnen
Retail giant Simon signs Shift Communications for two years
As of July, Shift Communications’ San Francisco office will be representing Simon’s west coast premium outlet properties, including those in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon. Their outlet locations are in Seattle, San Francisco, Woodburn, Petaluma Village, Pismo Beach, Vacaville, Waikele, Napa, North Bend, Gilroy, Folsom, Desert Hills, Camarillo, Carlsbad, Las Americas, and Las Vegas (North and South).
Shift will be promoting various seasonal campaigns for Simon and will provide media relations, crisis communications, event planning, and other PR services as required. This includes supporting Simon’s current sponsorship with Nick Jonas & Demi Lovato’s Future Now tour through the fall.
Lane acquired by Finn Partners
Finn Partners has been in expansion mode almost since its inception in 2011, acquiring nine agencies in that time. The latest to be included is Lane. Lane has offices in Seattle, Portland (OR), and New York and was founded by Wendy Lane Stevens in 1990. They will bring new geographic locations to Finn as well as further expertise in the financial services, lifestyle, tourism, and food & beverage sectors.
Ms. Lane Stevens will join the new company in a management position and said, “To be part of a global network with such strong digital and creative is such an opportunity for our clients and our staff. It’s also a great opportunity for me to remain and become part of the management group.”
Edelman hires Lucy Allen from Lewis PR
Lucy Allen is now with Edelman and will head their Bay Area office, working with clients in the Sacramento, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco areas. Edelman’s Bay office has 230 employees that she will oversee while reporting to Kristine Boyden, Edelman’s U.S. western region President. In commenting on this career change, Allen said, “Edelman is where you go to do the best work of your career – that’s what I’m focused on.”
Allen has 20 years’ experience in the PR field, most of it at Lewis PR, most recently as their chief strategy officer. She’s very familiar with the Bay Area as a long-time resident. She’s been there for 13 or more years. Allen and her husband (Morgan McLintic), who also recently left Lewis, helped establish their Bay Area office.
Eddie Bauer brings in Sard Verbinnen to help with cyber attack
Eddie Bauer retails outdoor clothing, but they were recently hacked and had their data breached. They hired Sard Verbinnen & Company to help with crisis communications and any other work associated with PR and the cyberattack. EB brought in a forensic cyber expert when they learned of the attack, and the expert found at least 350 of their customers from January through June had their credit card information stolen. The cyber attack may have been part of a larger intrusion targeting hotels, restaurants, and other retailers.
David Isaacs, principal of Sard’s San Francisco office, will be in charge of the work for EB. He is a UC Santa Cruz graduate with a B.A. in business management economics and has recently worked with such clients as Intel when they acquired Altera, StanCorp Financial, UIL Holdings, and Seagate.
