Agencies

Account wins in this edition of Spin the Agencies of Record includes large online travel and flower sites, Greek drama for the troops, and an online tool for estate and will planning:

Expedia.com flys with the HL Group as agency of record

MWW's relationship with 1-800-FLOWERS blossoms to bring more Popcorn Factory, Fannie May and Cheryl&Co gift baskets to you and yours

Dan Klores (DKC) goes Greek for the Theater of War, a production company contracted by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to bring the plays of Sophocles to military audiences

Executor's Resource hires Impact Communications

Digital Strategists Jackie Titus and Dan Schreibstein joined Ogilvy PR's 360° Digital Influence division today.

Prior to joining Ogilvy PR. Titus consulted on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental platforms for Unilever in the United States and worked with organizations including the National Park Foundation and Boys & Girls Club of America.

Schreibstein will specialize in email marketing strategies. Previously, he headed email acquisition marketing for online financial publisher The Motley Fool.

Razorfish hired a former Fleishman-Hillard SVP of Digital Communications to serve as Director of Word of Mouth/Social Media. The digital agency confirmed the hire but would not disclose the person's identity. Fleishman-Hillard declined to comment.

As our sister blog AgencySpy points out, it's a bit ironic that we heard about the new word of mouth hire via word of mouth, however neither agency would confirm the person via word of mouth. Yet talk to any major digital agency executive and they will gladly pontificate about transparency in social media and PR.

Fleishman currently has a job listing up for an SVP of Digital Communications in their Chicago office, although the agency couldn't confirm if that is a replacement position or expansion.

UPDATE: Well that didn't take long. Readers write in that Cristina Lawrence is the SVP in question. She tweeted today, "Have a few a days off before I start the new gig" and has also posted similar updates to her Facebook page.

First on PRNewser: DiGennaro Communications account director Mary-Elisabeth Ghanem is leaving the agency to take a position with Yahoo's internal PR team.

Today is her last day and she will be working in Yahoo's New York office starting next week.

At DiGennaro, Ghanem's clients included Digitas, mcgarrybowen, The Brand Union and 42 Entertainment. Both Ghanem and Yahoo PR were not immediately available for comment.

UPDATE: A Yahoo spokesperson tells PRNewser Ghanem will join as manager of PR in the group supporting supporting advertisers, agencies, and associations. She is a "new addition" to the team.

Chris Brown, the managing editor for new media at Fox's America's Most Wanted will leave the show to focus on his digital consultancy full time beginning in January.

Brown started "Chris Brown TV" after leaving local San Francisco TV station KRON in 2003 and went permanent again with Fox three years ago. He's juggled his freelance work since, consulting to large PR firms Porter Novelli and APCO Worldwide, and on digital strategy for the Washington Times, UPI and the Abundant Forrests Alliance. "There's so much exciting work going on in PR and public affairs, it seems like the right time to make it a full-time occupation," Brown told PRNewser over email.

Brown's six person team at Fox ushered AMW from a middle America favorite on the dial, to an integrated media property with a social presence. AMW.com both draws advertisers and helps the relentless John Walsh root out the bad guys.

AMW traffic is big among TV show sites, losing only to Dancing with the Stars during November sweeps, ahead of NCIS, The Office, Survivor, and Heroes, Brown said. The online effort serendipitously coincided with the explosion of social networks, and has led to the capture of more than 100 people, including fugitives in Mexico, India and Israel, since he joined in 2007.

Linden Lab, creators of 3D virtual world Second Life, has selected Edelman as the company's agency of record and the deal should be announced in a few weeks, a source told PRNewser last week.

In a new revelation, blogger Doug Thompson points out that Edelman recently hired Kristen Mitchel, "who was one of the chief contacts on the Lab's business when she was at Lewis." Lewis PR is Linden Lab's current agency of record.

"Whether her move to Edelman contributed to the decision, whether she'll work on the account under the new agency banner, or whether the idea of 'fresh blood' really means that remains to be seen," wrote Thompson.

Catherine Smith, Director of Marketing and Communications at Linden Lab, told PRNewser last week that the company "has worked with LEWIS PR in the US and several international markets since 2006. We've recently completed an agency review, but are not ready to announce any changes to our agency of record at this point."

A source said the contract is worth $1 million. Linden Lab declined to comment on the figure. Edelman could not immediately be reached for comment.

New York agency KCSA acquired Boston-based TanenPR last month. What lead to the deal? "Through an agent, I connected with several firms in New York. After initial discussions, I narrowed down the choices to two companies," said TanenPR founder Julia Tanen in a MetroWest guest byline.

One of her sticking points: being able to keep her staff. Tanen gives advice to others in her shoes.

[Vogue editor Anna Wintour]

Talk to any PR agency CEO these days about social media and you will hear about things like the "tremendous opportunity" digital and social media represent. That is true. The challenge is will that opportunity be for PR agencies, ad agencies, "social" agencies or others? So far the answer has been a little bit for everyone, and certainly the changing competitive set is keeping agency execs scrambling to stay on top of their game.

In one high profile account win this week, Blue State Digital won a contract with Condé Nast to do digital work on both the editorial and business sides of Vogue.

Blue State created my.barackobama.com and said profits are up 40% in 2009, due somewhat to expanding outside of political clients and landing work with National Geographic, the Red Cross, Hearst Publishing and Focus Features.

First on PRNewser: Progressive talk radio network Air America is bringing all PR in house, CEO Bennett Zier said in a phone interview with PRNewser today. The company had previously retained New York-based Trylon SMR as its agency of record.

Zier said Trylon was "very good and very effective for us" and that the company will, "continue to work with them on projects moving forward." Asked about the impetus for the move, Zier said, "Air America is a company that has a lot of in-house expertise and we're tapping into that."

Trylon SMR President Lloyd P. Trufelman told PRNewser, "clients come and go and there is no animosity." He said "everything was amicable," and that the move came as "no surprise," given that clients are still "tightening budgets."

Lifestyle/women focused focused agency Lippe Taylor hired Jim Joseph as partner and president. Joseph has spent the majority of his career with Publicis Groupe, most recently with the holding company's Saatchi and Saatchi Wellness agency.

Joseph will work to broaden the agency's offerings to include more marketing and digital advertising services. Lippe Taylor Founder and CEO Maureen Lippe called the hire "a match made in heaven."

RELATED: Karen Davis Joins Lippe Taylor as VP