Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) announced that the finalists for this year’s "Washington PR Woman of the Year" Award have been selected. The winner of this year’s award will be chosen from the following honorees:

GovDelivery, a provider of government-to-citizen communication solutions, acquired D.C.-based GovLoop, the social network for the government community. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Urban Igloo, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region’s rental-home locator service, named longtime marketing and sales executive Debbie Kaplan its director of marketing.

The AMA DC chapter hosted “Luxury Marketing: Relevance, Brand Integrity and Customer Retention” at the Ritz Carlton, Washington, DC, on Sept 23.  Members and attendees were treated to a lively discussion on the state of luxury marketing in the DC area and challenges in the current economy. Panelists included Jeri Ward, Audi; James Packard Gomez, Erwin Gomez Salon and Spa; and Elizabeth Mullins, Area VP, Ritz Carlton. Each panelist gave an honest and poignant assessment of their businesses ... Read More »

YellowBrix, an Alexandria-based provider of targeted industry news and business information services, acquired New York-based Screaming Media, which provides syndicated news to Internet and wireless services, from owner Dow Jones & Company, reports Potomac Tech Wire.

National Journal Group has launched 3121, a first-of-its-kind professional network designed specifically for congressional members and staff. The launch follows an extensive beta testing period that provided valuable feedback from Hill staff. 

The Public Relations Society of America's National Capital Chapter celebrated the value of public relations and honored the talent and innovation in Washington public relations professionals at its 41st annual Thoth Awards, held at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce selected Powell Tate and Purple Strategies for the multimillion-dollar "Campaign for Free Enterprise", reports PRWeek.

Bethesda-based Enten & Associates is calling it quits after more than two decades in business.  According to the Washington Business Journal, agency head Jon Enten wrote clients that said he has “never seen the economy in worse shape as now.”

Creativity is the capital of the new economy. On Oct. 4, join applied-creativity leaders, innovators and pioneering entrepreneurs for a lively full-day event focused on harnessing and focusing individual, group and organizational creativity; organizational structures/business models conducive for creativity and innovation; and the convergence of creativity, business and serving the greater good. This event is for entrepreneurs, leaders, creatives, innovation officers, trainers, coaches, change agents, visionaries, and anyone seeking to create new, positive changes in their work, business or organization. Read More »

Interface Media Group, Inc. (IMG), a DC-based production and post-production company, has acquired Virginia-based Alexandria Productions, Inc.  And, Alexandria founder and president Joel Westbrook is joining IMG as executive producer, overseeing original production, co-production and multi-platform projects.

Blue Bug Digital - a new agency that will focus on social media, viral reputation management,digital PR, interactive media and Web site design and development - has been launched to Christine Delucchi and will be located in the DC and San Francisco offices of Delucci Plus.

Capitol Communicator TV, in partnership with RHED Pixel Studios, is launching a series of videos featuring interviews with leading professional marketing communicators,  

The Web Marketing Association announced the winners of its 13th annual WebAward Competition for outstanding achievement in Web Site development. More than 2,000 sites from 45 countries in 96 industry categories were entered in this year's competition. Entries were judged on design, copy writing, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology. Winners include:

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Merrick Towle Communications reports that Donna Hodge has been appointed director of engagement, according to Glenn Towle, chief operating officer and partner of the firm. Hodge joined MTC earlier this year as media director.

"The usually gentle World Wildlife Fund was on the warpath” earlier this month, reported the New York Daily News, “after a tasteless ad exploiting 9/11 appeared online bearing its famous panda logo.”  We’ve reprinted part of the story

Wired had a piece recently about Jelly meetings.  If you are not familiar with Jelly meetings, according to Wired, they "are a way for folks who usually work at home to get out of the house, find kindred workers to collaborate with, or simply to socialize -- without having to commit to the gym-like membership setup of most of the country's coworking arrangements, where rented office spaces feel much like a traditional workplace and require a regular financial commitment beyond the means of most freelancers. Indeed, the term "office" can happily be avoided all together with Jelly."

Carolyn Sawyer, president and CEO of the Tom Sawyer Company, has been named one of the "2009 Top 100 MBE Award Winners."  The annual awards program honors outstanding women and minority business owners in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

Join Capitol Communicator on Sept. 30 for our second Connecting Communicators event. Our last event, at Arnold Worldwide, was a sell out. This one is on the Georgetown waterfront at Agraria Farmer and Fishers, pictured above, not only a beautiful location, but great food and drink.  At the event, Capitol Communicator will be introducing SourceBook, Capitol Communicator’s newest offering to&am Read More »

Public relations professionals help affect change from board rooms to living rooms, from Wall Street to Main Street, and around the world - and contribute to the success of business, government, commerce and community.

Ad 2 DC celebrated the end of Advertising Week DC 2009 by hosting their third happy hour of the year.  The Ad 2 leadership committee used this opportunity to announce the winner of their August 2009 logo contest—Erik Dreyer of August, Lang and Husak in Bethesda, MD.
 

Formerly with DraftFCB and JWT, Andy Blenkle is opening the DC office of one of Nashville’s fastest-growing companies, Iostudio.

Sage Communications adds Karen O'Shaughnessy as VP of its Media Services Division. She will oversee media research, strategy, planning and buying, as well as execution, measurement and analysis for print, broadcast, out-of-home and online advertising campaigns.

Rob Whittle, president and CEO of Williams Whittle, accepts Ad Club Silver Medal award at event in his honor held at The Washington Post.  The event was attended by friends, family, present and former agency employees, Williams Whittle clients, and many in the advertising community. 

A sold-out lunch at Advertising Week DC featured Michael Jack, president and general manager, NBC Universal/WRC-TV, at podium,

Advertising Week DC is underway.  The week-long celebration of the best of the marketing media and advertising community is dedicated to networking, professional development and Read More »

Jody Powell, chairman of Powell Tate, has died. As leader of the firm, he had been instrumental in creating a public relations firm that served a client roster that includes many of the nation's prominent corporations, trade associations and nonprofit organizations.

Mingle360 adds integration with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to significantly enhance the utility of the MingleStick. Attendees ‘click to connect’ with their MingleSticks at trade shows, conventions, and social events. Upon returning home, the connections are uploaded and are viewed on Facebook, Twitter, and the company’s MingleManager website

Jones Public Affairs, Inc., announced the appointment of Berna Diehl as senior VP and the promotion of Jennifer (Weissblum) Rodriguez to VP.

Vocus, Inc., adds AGWAY as a new customer. AGWAY will use Vocus' on-demand solution to manage all aspects of their public relations activities from researching media contacts in relevant industry trade publications and managing media relations - to monitoring and reporting on public relations campaign results.