Bluetext has acquired Lustig Communications. Lustig Communications’ clients joining Bluetext’s roster include Broadsoft, GCE, and Canvas. Brian Lustig, who is joining Bluetext’s team as partner, brings more than 17 years’ experience in media relations, public affairs, content marketing, social media and digital strategies to Bluetext.

Nominations are now open for PRSA-NCC's Public Relations Hall of Fame. The chapter started the Public Relations Hall of Fame in 1999 by inducting 50 leaders with significant accomplishments in the public relations field as part of the chapter’s 50th anniversary celebration. The original inductees included a diverse group of communicators from the National Capitol area, from agency heads, White House and Capitol Hill press secretaries, Pentagon spokespersons, business leaders, government officials, international experts, social activists, labor leaders, professors and educators.

LM&O Advertising will relocate in December to the top floor of 1776 Wilson Blvd., a new Rosslyn, VA, office building. The agency signed a 10-year lease for 21,000 square feet in the LEED platinum property. LM&O President Chris Laughlin said 1776 Wilson Blvd.’s amenities, eco-friendly design and proximity to two Metro stops make it a strong fit for the agency and its clients.

A new-and-improved version of Washington Business Journal has hit the street. According to Doug Fruehling, Editor-In-Chief, WBJ "totally reimagined how we deliver local business news".

"A Charm City TV source tells DCRTV" that it's likely that Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group will submit a bid to buy Allbritton's Channel 7/WJLA, DC's ABC affiliate, which was put on the market in early May. And, continued the DCRTV report, Sinclair is also interested in DC's CW affiliate, Channel 50/WDCW, should its parent, Tribune Company, put it on the market, as has been rumored.

Carol Montoya, CAE, executive director of the DC Ad Club and center in photo, has been named the 2013 recipient of the American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) Betty Riehl Excellence in Service Award.  The AAF board of directors established the Betty Riehl Excellence in Service Award
Read More »

FleishmanHillard has formed a military and veterans affairs group based in the firm’s D.C. office. The group was formed in response to increasing demands from both government and private organizations struggling to create successful outreach programs to address many of the issues affecting our nation’s military members and their families after more than 11 years of sustained conflict.

Gannett Co. will buy Belo Corp. for $2.2 billion in a deal that will make Gannett the USA's fourth-largest owner of major network affiliates, reaching nearly a third of U.S. households, reports USA TODAY. Belo owns and operates 20 TV stations — nine in the top-25 markets — and their associated websites, including in Texas and the Pacific Northwest where Gannett does not have a major presence.

“I have been really interested in CGI ...it’s is sort of where my work is evolving.” It’s an evolution that took a big leap forward in DC-based Cade Martin’s recent work for the Society for Human Resources Management. Where his photography is often whimsical, with a magical, ethereal quality this could quite possibly be his biggest magic trick yet.

- The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation hired Ogilvy Public Relations to help increase the number of people who fish for fun;

- The Case Foundation added Environics Communications as its new national public relations agency;

- MGH expanded its relationship with McCormick & Company; and, 

- National Association of Railroad Passengers hired Williams Whittle.

Entries are being accepted for the 2013 Mosaic Awards. The AAF hosted its first Mosaic Awards & Forum program in 2001 to recognize successful multicultural marketing and diversity efforts. In 2004, the AAF and its District Two joined forces to host the Diversity Achievement and Mosaic Awards & Forum during Advertising Week New York. The partnership has proven to be

The Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, ADCMW,  held its 64th annual design award event at the new office of nClud on K Street this past Saturday. Winners were:

Six DC-area agencies were honored with a total of eight National ADDYs at the American Advertising Awards on June 8 in Phoenix. The awards were presented at the American Advertising Federation’s annual conference, ADmerica. Agencies that won Gold or Silver ADDY® Awards in the American Advertising Awards-Washington, DC, competition were eligible to compete in the District Two competition, which is comprised of Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and DC. Winners from that competition were then eligible to compete for National ADDY® Awards.

Washington Post-owned Southern Maryland Newspapers will implement a paywall beginning June 17, requiring readers to subscribe to one of its three community newspapers in order to view all of that publication's articles online, reports dcrtv.com.  The report stated that the papers include 

Marketing and PR software company Vocus brought a "Mad Men" vibe to a networking event in Chinatown on Wednesday night as part of an advertising campaign, according to a report in Washington Business Journal. The Beltsville company organized a flash mob at the Gordon Biersch on F Street where members of the Public Relations Society of America were networking at its annual social. Vocus employees assembled in front of the restaurant in lime green shirts with the words "Mad Mob" written in white, reported Moriah Costa.

IMS Advertising + Marketing announced a newly minted relationship with Korean-based United Dental Group ... RP3 added Omar Quiñones as director of strategic planning ... CreatiVerge in Columbia, MD, has become Everclear ... and, Linda Roth Associates promoted Lisa Pinghera and added Sarah Shriver.

The Washington Post will phase in a paid online subscription model for Web content starting June 12, charging some readers $9.99 a month for access to more than 20 articles a month on desktop and mobile devices.  The plan will not affect substantial numbers of The Post’s readers

The Richmond chapter of the Public Relations Society of America held its annual Virginia Public Relations Awards ceremony at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond last month, designed to recognize the most creative and effective communications strategies and tactics happening across the Commonwealth. Best in Show went to Virginia Commonwealth University Division of University Relations for a media relations campaign titled “VCU Barker Study: Benefits of Taking Fido to Work.”

WOMMA is accepting nominations for the eighth annual WOMMY Awards. WOMMA’s annual award ceremony recognizes and honors the most inspiring word-of-mouth marketing campaigns of the year. Now through August 23, brands, companies and agencies can submit their campaigns to be considered for a WOMMY Award in one of the eight categories:

WB&A Market Research changed its name to WBA Research, developed a new identity for its communications and launched a new website. According to Steve Markenson, president, the new name is more reflective of the firm’s wide range of research capabilities. Also, the firm introduced a new logo which is intended to capture the essence of the value that WBA brings to clients:

The DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development is honoring filmmaker Chris Keener, founder of Goldenbear, as its June 2013 Filmmaker of the Month. His work spans commercial, feature, television, and documentary filmmaking; and in the online arena as well. He created the video e-Card web site Cardsharque.com, producing more than 60 short, comic videos that continue to be distributed around the world and, most recently, produced a web series for AARP.

Leigh George, PhD, joined Ogilvy as VP/ digital strategist ... Andrea Koslow joined PBS as director of Brand Strategy ... ADG|Creative in Columbia adds three ... and, Cade Martin photographed Maryland first lady Catherine Curran O’Malley for a piece appearing in the June issue of Baltimore Style magazine.

Andrew Weinstein, who headed PR operations for LivingSocial, plans to return to Ridgeback Communications, his public affairs business, next month after two years as head of communications for the D.C.-based deals company, reports Bill Flook in the Washington Business Journal. In LivingSocial years, that makes him a grizzled veteran, Flook wrote, who went on to state

ADVERTORIAL: Get the intelligence you need to be successful with your online marketing programs to generate leads and build brand in the information economy at Demand Success 2013. Vocus has gathered thought leaders and experts like Arianna Huffington, Rohit Bhargava and Jeremiah Owyang to share their best practices with you.

The American Frozen Food Institute selected IPG’s McCann Erickson, GolinHarris and Casanova Pendrill to develop a comprehensive national consumer campaign ... Outreach Strategies hired Alison Omens as VP ... Van Eperen & Company hired Erin Uy as account supervisor ... and, Baltimore-based Mindgrub won the Drupal Blue  Read More »

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) has launched a new ad campaign encouraging Marylanders to support local businesses. The campaign, which kicked off this week and will run through summer, features a different company each month and highlights consumer-focused small businesses. Part of DBED’s long-running MaryLand of Opportunity campaign, the 30-second spots will run on a mix of broadcast, radio, print and digital, including WJZ-TV, CBS Radio and the Baltimore Sun, all of which are matching the state’s ad buy. DBED worked with Baltimore-based Media Works to secure the placements.

The once almost-daily Washington Examiner is transitioning to a weekly political magazine targeted at "key influencers," a move that resulted in 87 layoffs at the paper, reports Washington City Paper. The newly retooled Examiner will launch on June 17, according to an internal Examiner memo, continued the City Paper report.

Baltimore-based MGH added five employees.  The additions are:

PR News is looking for communications experts to contribute to their upcoming "Measurement Guidebook." Specifically, they are looking for ideas that will fall into the following categories: