Husqvarna, makers of lawn equipment for homeowners, has chosen Ketchum as U.S. AOR. The firm’s Atlanta team will take the lead on this account. [via]

H&R Block has hired Shift Communications for content strategy, specifically the company’s Block Talk blog. On the blog now, an infographic from the company’s Stache Act campaign, included in this morning’s Ticker.  [via]

Marcomms company EOS has added six clients to its roster: the city of Dunwoody, G.A.; Dunwoody’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau; Higher Ground, an initiative launched by Atlanta faith leaders; Millbridge, a new community outside of Charlotte, N.C.; Soleil Laurel Canyon, an adult community outside of Atlanta; and coaching and executive development company Turknett Leadership Group.

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The state of Kentucky has fired British firm Gosh PR for a campaign that the state’s tourism department called “offensive and stereotyped.” The firm, which was hired in 2008 to promote the state abroad, launched a site that encouraged tourists to play a game called “roadkill bingo” where you count the number of dead animals on the road for points. Also, the site told tourists to visit Hazzard County, the fake place from The Dukes of Hazzard, which, BTW, was located in Georgia. The Kentucky Tourism commissioner, Mike Cooper, called the site “edgy” and commended the firm’s work. He has been fired along with the firm, with the $179,000-per-year contract cancelled. The company has been paid nearly $650,000 for its services over the years.  [via The Daily Mail]

According to the Sacramento Bee, Ogilvy PR is the “tentative winner” of the contract to help California implement federal healthcare reforms. The contract with the California Health Benefit Exchange is worth $900,000 and would last through October 2013. The contract is pending “a five-day protest period” that ends on March 7.

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Moving company Atlas Van Lines has chosen Indianapolis-based Dittoe Public Relations as its AOR. The firm has previously worked with the company, touting a Wall Street Journal placement that it says led to new business in the press release announcement.

Gutenberg PR will once again serve as the official PR partner for the ad:tech New Delhi conference, focused on digital advertising and marketing. The event will take place February 22 through February 24, 2012.

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Russia’s bid committee for the 2020 World Expo, Ekaterinburg 2020, has chosen Weber Shandwick for its global campaign. Weber has previously worked on successful World Expo campaigns for Shanghai (2010) and Milan (2015) and worked with another Russian city, Sochi, in its successful bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Russian city of Ekaterinburg is competing against Thailand, Dubai, Turkey, and São Paulo. The decision will be announced in 2013.

Tierney has been selected by Verizon Wireless in the Philadelphia tri-state region for media relations, events, customer and influencer outreach, and social media services. The selection is an expansion on a previous relationship; Tierney has worked with Verizon in other Pennsylvania markets.

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Yesterday, PRWeek wrote about Foursquare‘s agency search after cutting ties with Kaplow, which it signed as AOR in October 2010. Today we received a statement from Kaplow’s president and CEO Liz Kaplow: “We have a very strong partnership with foursquare and have greatly enjoyed working with them, and we hope there will be opportunities to work together on projects in the future.”

Foursquare PR manager Erin Gleason added in a comment via email: “Kaplow was a great partner for the past year. We hope there will be opportunities to work together on projects in the future.”

According to PRWeek, the account was worth six figures annually and services included media relations and consumer education efforts.

More account changes after the jump.

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A snapshot from Nelson's Occupy Wall Street album.

PR firm Workhouse is showing their support for Occupy Wall Street with their emails and Facebook photo album filled with pictures from the protest. However, Workhouse CEO Adam Nelson was clear when he spoke with us on the phone: the firm is not providing services directly to the protesters.

Rather, it’s something that Nelson says is a “noble cause” that wasn’t getting very much media attention when their first email went out last Wednesday. The latest email, received today with the subject line “OCCUPY WALL STREET: Solidarity Kit” once again includes a link to the Facebook page of snapshots from the protest and the line, “The revolution has been editorialized.”

“The messaging on the ground is fascinating,” Nelson told us. Whether through the election or by other means, “these are issues that we will be confronting one way or the other,” he said.

JetBlue has chosen Rokkan as its lead digital agency after six years with with Huge. A Huge spokesperson tells Ad Age that the split was a mutual decision. Rokkan has worked with Virgin America and has a number of other travel clients.

Bosch China, an automotive, consumer, and industrial tech company, has chosen Ruder Finn for four business units – two in the automotive area, the corporate unit, and the power tools group. The firm worked with Bosch China for the opening of its new Shanghai headquarters earlier this year and its efforts at the Shanghai Auto Show. [via Holmes Report]

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Discovery Bay Games, a manufacturer of iPad games, apps, and accessories, has chosen MWW Group as its AOR. MWW will promote its client’s new product Duo, “the first and only integrated game device in the world to work with the iPad.”

Another gaming company, Activision, has selected SapientNitro for digital marketing services. The firm will work on campaign promotions for the upcoming games “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3″ and “Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure.”

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In this edition of Spin the Agencies of Record, there is designer hardware, global software, and fashion for head to toe.

LFPR has been selected as the AOR for Sage North America, the U.S. and Canadian arm of the international business management software  and service supplier. The firm will handle traditional, online, and Hispanic media relations for a number of business units.

Miz Mooz, a footwear brand, has chosen Workhouse as its AOR. The firm will work on promotional campaigns tied to the company’s collections and special events, as well as other domestic PR.

Susan Magrino Agency has been named AOR for Saint Louis Crystal, a French maker of crystal vases and other products that was founded in 1586. The firm was also named AOR for Puiforcat, a French art deco silver design company. Both companies are owned by Hermès.

Alpha Industries, a fashion company specializing in military-inspired design, has selected Turner PR as its AOR. Alpha has also outfitted the U.S. Defense Department since 1959. Turner will launch the company’s national PR campaign.