Kansas City

The Johnson County Education Research Triangle (JCERT) is seeking a public relations agency to assist the JCERT Authority with public information activities for a two-year period. The JCERT initiative is funded through a one-eighth cent sales tax which generates dollars for higher education, research and degree offerings through University of Kansas Edwards Campus, KU Medical Center’s Clinical Research Center in Fairway and the Kansas State University – Olathe Innovation Campus. The proceeds from this tax, first assessed in April 2009, generate approximately $15 million a year to fund higher education, research and degree offerings through a unique partnership between the... Read More >

Daniel Palmier, President and CEO of UC Funds announced today the funding of a $30 million adaptive re-use bridge loan for the conversion of three vacant buildings and a parking garage into a 260-unit, mixed-use project with an additional 26,000 SF of retail and 6,500 SF of office space in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He plans to spend additional funds to market Kansas City extensively. The project comprises three vacant buildings and a parking garage ranging from four to 11 stories. Upon completion, the 260 Class A units will offer a best in market amenity package including a swimming pool,... Read More >

Barkley Inc. is an independent full-service advertising agency based in Kansas City, Missouri. They were formerly known as Barkley Evergreen & Partners and are one of the largest independent advertising agency in the U.S., and the largest in Kansas City. In 2012, Barkley split their public relations division off from the rest of the company and created a wholly-owned subsidiary named Crossroads. Other wholly-owned subsidiaries are Barkley REI (for niche markets such as nonprofits, higher education, and travel and tourism) with offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Blacktop (their design group) also in Kansas City; Grenadier in Boulder, Colorado; and Better Than... Read More >

Check out some of the top independent Public Relations firms in the Kansas City area: Trozzolo Communications Group TCG specializes in providing strategy, social branding, digital service, PR, and crisis communications. They cleverly use the slogan “Get it together,” meaning get all the messages, advertising, PR, social media at one location – of course we know it’s not grammatically correct, but it’s catchy. Trozzolo represents local and national client brands such as TouchNet, Freight Quote, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Hotel Sorella, Heartland Tractor, and Light Edge. TCG has experienced steady growth over the years, mainly because they choose to expand in... Read More >

The Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) is seeking a PR agency to manage event planning and media relations for the grand opening activities of the KC Streetcar. The grand opening of Kansas City’s first streetcar is a long awaited celebration of downtown transit and economic development. Construction is expected to finish in late October 2015, and start carrying passengers by early 2016. Despite the fact that the cost of the streetcar is expected to exceed $102 Million – all-in PR and event planning budget is only $10,000. That’s a low fee – especially given some of the negative attention already... Read More >

Following an instance this year where the General Services Administration contracted a public relations firm to manage negative publicity at the federal office complex in Kansas City, over a long-standing pollution problem and its potential health fallout, Senator Claire McCaskill announced an investigation into how federal agencies had used taxpayer money to pay for public relations services. McCaskill’s spokeswoman Maria Speiser said the senator was "quite surprised"  when finding out GSA signed a $234,000 "emergency communications plan" with Kansas City-based Jane Mobley Associates to manage the Bannister Federal Complex PR crisis. According to the Senator’s office, federal agencies spent a... Read More >

Google never ceases to amaze us with their fun and often impactful doodlings and symbolic outreaches. Yesterday the web's most dominant force changed their name in honor of a city most people could not locate with Google Maps - Topeka. April Fools, or any other time of the year, Google is not too great to engage us with their own brand. In case Topeka, Kansas ever needed some notoriety, hundreds of millions had a chance to investigate them. If ever there were an exercise in the power of a brand, Google is it. The story of "why" basically boils down... Read More >

Parris Communications Inc. will now be the agency of record for the Smashburger restaurant chain in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The communications firm will be handling the local communications that occur on a daily basis, as well as working on marketing for the "better burger" restaurant. “Smashburger is excited to partner with Parris Communications for our launch in the greater Kansas City area,” says Smashburger Founder Tom Ryan. “Parris will help us introduce burger lovers on both sides of the state line to our ‘burger magic’.” Smashburger has been rapidly expanding over the past few months, working to... Read More >