Fast sex, like fast food, is cheap, but it doesn’t nourish the body – or the soul. – Suzanne Fields

Burger King has selected Alison Brod PR, an indie lifestyle shop, as its Agency of Record. Alison Brod will help Burger King implement ambitious steps to market to women (the agency already has a robust list of-female focused brands in its portfolio).

Before machines the only form of entertainment people really had was relationships. – Doug Copeland

Los Angeles based entertainment agency Industry Public Relations (IPR) has merged with New York City lifestyle and events agency LuxeLife Media (LLM). IPR, a boutique entertainment public relations firm ran by Tracy Nguyen and Kisha Maldonado-Madrid, has expanded the agency and the firm’s east coast presence by partnering up with LuxeLife Media founder Christina Rice.

Operating under one name, LLM clients have folded into the Industry Public Relations roster. In addition, IPR has added VIBE Media to its growing client roster, serving as AOR for the iconic publishing brand as it celebrates its 20th year anniversary. Under the new merger, Rice will lead the east coast operations and Nguyen / Maldonado-Madrid will continue to lead the west coast operations.

When I tour, I stuff fridges full of organic food and stick to that. – Avril Lavigne

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Ogilvy Public Relations named Ogilvy PR veteran Tara May general manager of the Denver office and appointed Kabira Hatland director of client service for OgilvyEarth, expanding its local team. May began working in Ogilvy PR’s Washington, D.C., office in 1992 as part of the Public Affairs practice and recently spent five years at Feinstein Kean Healthcare, an Ogilvy subsidiary, where she directed accounts for a range of health science organizations. Hatland joined the firm in 2011 and focuses on corporate and environmental communications. Prior to her time at Ogilvy PR, Hatland was a principal at Clarus Communications, working with clients in the consumer product and hospitality sectors. (Release)

RF|Binder announced that Linda Perry-Lube has joined the agency as chief digital officer. Perry-Lube, an experienced digital strategist who previously served as the first-ever chief digital officer for the American Museum of Natural History, will lead RF|Binder’s Digital Strategy Group. In addition to her work at the American Museum of Natural history, Perry-Lube also brings experience from Microsoft, Ford Motor Company and Online2000, a business consultancy practice she founded. (Release)

Plantronics, Inc. named Genevieve Haldeman vice president of global communications. Haldeman will be responsible for driving the communications strategy worldwide, guiding executive communication and setting the strategy for public/analyst relations and social media engagement. She will work closely with Plantronics leadership on new efforts to reach business and consumer audiences. Most recently, Haldeman was vice president of global communications at Webroot, a software company that provides Internet security solutions for consumers and small and medium businesses. (Release)

After a review, McGarryBowen‘s London office acquired the global advertising account for Toblerone, the renowned candy brand. WPP’s Ogilvy managed the account previously, and—even thought it will no longer handle the Toblerone account—it will continue to work for a new company, Mondelez, established by the division of Kraft Foods into two separate entities.

Jill Kelley, the Florida woman catapulted into fame upon being identified as the person who triggered an FBI investigation that exposed CIA Director General David Petraeus‘ extramarital affair, has hired the crisis firm Smith & Co., based in Washington, DC. Though Smith & Co. refused to comment, both USA Today and Fox News reported that Ms. Kelley and her husband, Scott, hired Smith & Co.’s founder, PR maven Judy Smith, and attorney Abbe Lowell.

WISE PR, based in New York City, has added several new clients to its roster: Control Group, an NYC-based innovation strategy firm; Spruce Media, the leading provider of enterprise-class marketing solutions for Facebook Ads; Yieldex, the leading provider of inventory and revenue management solutions for digital publishers; Dynamix, a provider of dynamic creative engagement, optimization and personalization technology, and Spindle Labs Inc., a developer of new search technology to help people discover social content.

Bender/Helper Impact, a leading independent marketing communications and public relations firm, announced the appointment of Nicole Rodrigues as vice president of the agency’s Entertainment Content team. Rodrigues will be responsible for generating and directing client strategies within the digital entertainment, home entertainment and consumer products industries. Prior to joining B/HI, Rodrigues led multi-practice digital teams as the director of digital entertainment at Miller PR and director of consumer marketing at Demand Media. She joins B/HI with extensive experience in bridging the gap between the technology and entertainment industries, having worked with such dominant brands as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Dolby, Yahoo!, MobiTV, Sony Playstation, Dailymotion, eHow, Cracked, and LIVESTRONG.COM, among others. (Release)

Ogilvy Public Relations has announced that Brian Maloney and Margie Fox, co-founders and co-CEOs of Maloney & Fox, have been appointed managing directors of Ogilvy PR’s US Consumer Marketing Practice. Additionally, Ms. Fox takes on the role of US creative director for Consumer Practice and Mr. Maloney will serve as head of the New York Consumer Marketing Group. Both will begin their New York-based roles at Ogilvy PR in early 2013. (Release)

NBCUniversal executive Hilary Smith has been promoted to the position of senior vice president, Communications for NBCUniversal, Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media. In her new role, Smith will oversee strategic communications and serve as the lead spokesperson for the division, which includes Telemundo, mun2, Bravo Media, Oxygen Media, Style Media, Sprout, DailyCandy, Fandango, iVillage, Television Without Pity and the Integrated Media group. Most recently, Smith oversaw communications for E&DN/IM’s digital businesses Fandango, DailyCandy, iVillage and Television Without Pity. She also led communications, as well as consumer and trade marketing for the company’s Integrated Media business – which includes the company-wide ad sales and marketing initiatives: Women at NBCU, Green is Universal, Healthy at NBCU and Hispanics at NBCU. (Release)

Active living brand prAna, known for its functional designs and progressive style, has selected Haberman of Minneapolis as its AOR in a competitive review. Haberman will handle public relations, social media and event management for the company as well as long-term marketing planning for prAna’s first Twin Cities location.

The new Minnesota store, slated to open in early November 2012 at 50th and France in Edina, joins five other retail prAna locations in Denver, Boulder, Santa Barbara, Portland and San Francisco.

Gap brand has eschewed established global agencies like stalwart Ogilvy for a host of agencies available on an as-needed basis. The shops including Peterson Milla Hooks and AKQA. PMH, a Minneapolis-based shop, has worked with Target, Kmart and JC Penney. Yet Gap and Ogilvy still maintain a relationship.

Gap spokeswoman Edie Kissko said,”Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide helped us tremendously over the last year in establishing the Gap brand ‘Be Bright’ platform, which we launched with our spring campaign… Ogilvy also created our fall ‘Icon Redefined’ campaign.”

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Sun Country Foods is about to launch a campaign to introduce the many benefits of Kretschmer Wheat Germ to a new generation of consumers. 360 Public Relations in Boston has been selected to handle PR and Facebook development for the Kretschmer brand. Kretschmer, founded more than 75 years ago, is the largest producer of wheat germ in the U.S.

“The team at 360PR immediately understood the opportunity for Kretschmer and has delivered valuable insights and an actionable road map to connect consumers with our brand story, through both mass and social media,” said Sun Country Foods President and CEO Roy Lubetkin.

Unilever has chosen BBH to handle its hefty Dove Men+Care assignment, which will be handled by the Publicis Groupe agency’s London and New York offices. BBH is internationally known for its work with Axe, another Unilever personal-care brand, but has never worked with Dove, which has been primarily handled by Ogilvy. Read more

Charlie Melcher has been upending traditions and expectations in the publishing industry for more than 25 years. He first broke onto the scene in a big way with Madonna’s notorious “SEX” book, and his company Melcher Media published a string of successful titles ranging from Eminem’s autobiography to Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” before Melcher was forced “out of [his] comfort zone” in 2009 by a market that continues to push the industry in a digital direction.

Melcher Media’s first significant digital project was creating an app tie-in to Gore’s most recent book, “Our Choice”. After the app ruled the iTunes store for a few weeks and received both a David Pogue write up in The New York Times and a design award from Apple, Melcher became more fully invested in the idea of “reinventing the book for the digital age” and turning traditional narratives into multi-media experiences.

Melcher has some big ideas about the future that extend well beyond the world of traditional publishing and into the basic practice of storytelling, or the human desire to share and re-share personal narratives that touch us, move us, and even infuriate us. This Friday, October 5th in New York’s Snug Harbor, Melcher Media will host a one-day summit titled “The Future of Storytelling” to begin the complex task of turning those ideas into reality—and you’re invited.

This won’t be your conventional media gathering;

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This week the people of Ogilvy PR’s Media Influence group did a bit of what they do best: hosting an informal get-together for representatives from some of New York media’s biggest brands and inviting your humble editor along for the ride!

The third quarterly MediaXchange event took place at the East Side’s Club A Steakhouse, a restaurant known for its prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, its low-light atmospherics, and the strategically placed mirrors that make its upstairs lounge area look even more spacious than it actually is.

The event included representatives from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Fox News, Fast Company and more, and its main concerns were networking and discussing the shifting influence of “traditional” media on the national conversation.

Jennifer Risi, EVP of Ogilvy Media Influence and director of content creation, explained the purpose of the series: “Despite the emergence of social media, events such as the MediaXchange series are proving to be an invaluable forum for promoting the stories of our clients and establishing lasting connections with key influencers.  The informal setting fosters an ‘old school’ environment where we are able to promote, share and collaborate with some of the leading reporters and conference organizers in the industry today.”

There was indeed quite a bit of healthy fraternizing going on: Read more

Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (nyse mkt:ETAK), an international provider of business software to the telecommunications and financial industries, has appointed Jan Goeijenbier as Director of Corporate Communications. Jan will also manage the group’s newly appointed public relations agencies — Fishburn Hedges in Europe and Intermarket Communications in the United States — as well as, together with VP of Investor Relations Steve Gersten, The Blueshirt Group, ETAK’s new investor relations agency. (Release)

Kyle Bishop has been named Director of Digital Strategies and Creative Services at 360 Public Relations. Bishop will lead an expanding team of digital designers, developers and social media community managers at 360PR, an agency recognized as an early leader and continued innovator in digital communications. (Release)

Single Stop USA, a national non-profit organization focused on increasing economic and educational opportunities nationwide, announced today that Dr. Jennifer Scott has joined its board of directors. Dr. Scott serves as the Global Managing Director of Ogilvy Public Relations’ (Ogilvy PR) Strategy+Planning Group and brings significant experience in communications strategy to the Single Stop board. (Release)

Ogilvy Public Relations (Ogilvy PR) has announced that Kevin Slagle joins the agency’s corporate communications practice as senior vice president. Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Slagle was a principal and partner with Capitol Public Affairs in Sacramento, where he specialized in public policy-related public affairs programs. He began his career at Porter Novelli and spent over 10 years at the firm, most recently as senior vice president.

Seale Ballenger joins Zola Books as head of marketing and publicity. Prior to Zola, he was vice president and group publicity director at HarperCollins Publishers, where he has worked with a number of bestselling authors including Bill O’Reilly, Lauren Bacall, Bill Romanowski, Joe Hill, Christopher Kennedy Lawford and John Grogan.

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