ASGK Public Strategies, founded by former White House advisor David Axelrod and Eric Sedler, has acquired most of Plesser Holland Associates. New York-based boutique Plesser Holland was founded by former Rubenstein exec Andy Plesser in 1992. Plesser’s longtime right hand Kent Holland became a partner in 2005.

Plesser launched a video blog and consultancy called Beet.tv in 2006, while Holland relocated to Washington, DC to focus on the core PR offerings for existing clients in the higher education, financial services and technology sectors.

ASGK  Managing Partner Eric Sedler said, “Kent’s exceptional media relations skills and client base were very attractive to us. We saw lots areas where Kent could enhance our firm’s work.”

The terms of the deal are undisclosed. Holland becomes Managing Director; he will continue to manage the accounts absorbed by ASGK including CNET, the Villanova School of Business, and Butler University.

(Disclosure: The author was employed by Plesser Holland from 2000-2006.)

Kraft has chosen Bell Pottinger for a “seven-figure assignment” that will raise awareness of the company’s global snacks unit in Europe, once that division is spun off. The firm will work on building corporate awareness and building relationships with NGOs, government members, and the media. The search included five agencies, according to the Holmes Report.

Phonak, makers and distributors of hearing aids and other devices, has chosen Ketchum as the AOR for the company’s U.S. division. The firm will work to raise awareness of hearing loss, the need for the hearing impaired to seek medical attention, and the company’s Hear the World Foundation. The account will be handled out of Ketchum’s Chicago office, which is near Phonak’s HQ.

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This week, Rubenstein Associates is looking for a real estate account executive, while Brown Lloyd James is on the hunt for a media director. Stern + Associates is seeking a senior-level media relations specialist, and M Booth is hiring a PR media specialist with a focus on consumer technology. Get more details on these openings below, and find more new job listings on mediabistro.com.

• Media Director Brown Lloyd James (San Francisco, CA)
• PR Media Specialist M Booth (New York, NY)
• Senior-Level Media Relations Specialist Stern + Associates (Watertown, NY)
• Account Executive, Real Estate Rubenstein Associates (New York, NY)
• Media Supervisor Draftfcb (Chicago, IL)

For more job listings, go to the Mediabistro job board, and to post a job, visit our employer page. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

It was a mix up of grand proportions. Carolyn Savage had the wrong embryo implanted in her womb, but still agreed to have the baby – a boy born last Thursday – and give him back to his mother, Shannonn Morell. Given the amount of media attention the story has been getting, Savage has employed the help of New York agency Rubenstein, according to ABC News. In the above video from last Wednesday, the Savages spoke with the Associated Press.