Melbourne agency Dani Lombard Public Relations (DLPR) has rebranded as part of the Soda Communications family, B and T reported.

The change in business name was carried out as a result of both DLPR and Soda working together on a series of campaigns in the past year.

The move will have DLPR’s offices in Sydney set up as Soda Communications’ local branch, with DLPR founder Dani Lombard as the managing director; Chris Mannix stays on as Melbourne MD. All existing staff and their account responsibilities will remain the same.

“It’s been 12 years since I founded DLPR, and I’m excited for the next chapter in our story,” said Lombard.

“Bringing our two companies under one banner allows us to combine our strengths and broaden our offering to clients, while continuing to do what we do best: deliver unbeatable results and return on investment to our clients.”

The Sefiani Communications Group’s senior advisory team has enlisted the services of brand identity expert Sandy Belford.

He will now be tasked with mentoring Sefiani staff and tuning into client calls for input as necessary.

Belford is a seasoned hand in the market branding and identity development industry. He had been a branding consultant at British agency The Partners before running Principals as director from 2002 onwards and also co-director at The Song Company for five years. His expertise is in client advisory work for sectors such as non-profit, university, and the government.

Although Belford is working at Sefiani, he still maintains ties with Principals.  

“Our Sefiani Senior Advisory Panel comprises people who excel in their profession and bring knowledge and wisdom to their interactions with us and our clients. Sandy and I have worked together on assignments for over ten years and I’m delighted he is joining our panel of expert advisers as he is

Bold Media is ending this week with a new look and brand name, plus a fresh client to boot.

The agency announced that it will run media relations and content duties for advertising data provider Quantcast across the APAC region. The company has offices in Sydney and Singapore.

The client win comes as the agency tweaked its market presence as Bold instead of Bold Media. The changes include a full website refresh and a new logo (pictured) in red lowercase letters.

At the same time, the agency also hired former Misfits Media editorial director Richie Kenzie as media strategist, while Dede Steward is a new senior account executive freshly graduated from UTS.

“At Bold, our mantra for some time has been ‘PR is dead’. Whilst this is certainly a tongue in cheek statement, I do believe the future of our industry lies in what we call creative communications. Bold stands at the intersection of media relations, inspiring content and an aesthetic that allows ambitious brands t

Melbourne agency Karla Dawes Press Office (KDPO) has won a raft of clients in the hospitality and food and beverage industries, as reported on Mumbrella.

In the hospitality practice, the Signature Hospitality Group tasked KDPO to run PR for the new Foresters Restaurant and Bar in Fortitude Valley, Queensland, which is slated for opening later this year. Based in South Melbourne, Signature is best known for running the Sporting Globe sports bar chain and as the Australia franchisee of US grill chain TGI Friday’s.

KDPO will also handle the promotion of Lucas Restaurants outlets Chin Chin, Baby, Hawker Hall, and Kong.

On the F&B front, KDPO landed the representation for cheese expert Anthony “The Cheesemonger” Femia, who is already preparing to upgrade his Prahran Market cheese cart into a storefront.

Asahi Premium Beverages, a subsidiary of Japanese drinks giant Asahi, contracted KDPO as PR provider for the Peroni beer company’s Nastro Azzurro lager. The n

RED Agency has rebranded to RED Havas.

Havas Group ANZ chairman Anthony Freedman said the change is intended to expand RED Agency‘s social, PR, brand experience, and content production services to all satellite offices of the Havas Group around the world.

The new brand name (pictured) consists of the Havas Group’s stylised H logo and the lower-case Havas word and the RED in Red Agency. It is already implemented at RED Agency Australia’s Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane offices, plus Havas PR’s branches in North America, Singapore, and the Philippines.

“Brands need to work harder than ever before to live up to expectations throughout the customer experience and be indispensable in people’s lives. The Red Havas rebrand reflects our ambition to keep innovating ahead of the market through our growing content and data-led offerings, with the aim of creating meaningful connections between people and brands,” added RED Havas Australia CEO Sarah Trom

VMLY&R has introduced new senior personnel to the leadership circle in Melbourne.

At the top of the list are two new managing partners. Sarah Bailey comes in on account of her experience in a similar role at DDB Melbourne and being business director at Ogilvy Australia. Current VMLY&R Melbourne senior project manager Jon Kenyon has the second spot. Both of them will report to VMLY&R CEO Aden Hepburn and ECD Jake Barrow.

The new partners are also hands-on with the recently-acquired Defence Force Recruiting account. Bailey will have full oversight of account developments, and Kenyon is in charge of production work. He will also handle platform and customer-experience for the entire client list.

Kenneth Chan is onboard as strategy director, following nearly three years as strategy and content chief with Dig&Fish. He will lead the strategic planning for all accounts except Defence Force Recruiting. Katherine Chen had recently signed up as client services director, with m