Bud Communications continues growth with new clients and hire

PR and communications agency, History Will Be Kind (HWBK), has announced the acquisition of Sydney-based brand and design agency, DOUBLESTAR CO, bringing brand building and reputation communications strategy under one team.

Founded in 2019 by Jye Smith and Baptiste C David, DOUBLESTAR CO joins HWBK in full, with all team members transitioning across. The acquisition expands HWBK’s offering across brand and creative strategy, earned media, influencer and social campaigns, and in-house production, content, film and digital design.

Founder and CEO of HWBK, EJ Granleese, said: “Since we launched in 2014, we've challenged the status quo and evolved to not only meet the market, but lead it. We’ve built our reputation on data-driven, insight-led communications work at the intersection of creativity, culture and impact.

“Working with the expertise of the DOUBLESTAR CO team, including Jye who steps in as HWBK’s Executive Creative Director, our thinking can now start earlier and run deeper - from what a brand needs to stand for, through to how it shows up, the communications that earn it a place in hearts and minds, and the approach needed to win in the AI age. All built and working together, rather than handed off along the way.”

HWBK MD, Edwina Brook, said: “It’s an exciting time for our newly combined team, our amazing, diverse client base and the industry more broadly, and we're proud to be entering this new era of History stronger, more focused and agile than ever. It feels like we’re truly fighting fit and my focus is continuing to elevate the work and impact, leading from the front and never settling. The creative momentum is strong and we’re looking forward to a stellar year ahead, making History,”

(Pictured, from left: EJ Granleese, Jye Smith, Edwina Brook)

The team behind Weber Shandwick Australia has announced VOCAL, a new earned-first communications agency.

As AI changes how information is discovered and decisions are made, VOCAL believes brands can no longer rely on awareness alone. The new agency says brands need to earn authority by becoming sources that people trust, journalists quote and AI systems reference.

To help clients measure that impact, VOCAL has developed the Earned Authority Index, a framework that tracks how discoverable, trusted and influential a brand is with both people and AI.

VOCAL combines strategic counsel, earned media, creative campaigns and AI-enabled methodologies, with clients working directly with specialists. The agency uses AI to remove repetitive work to give its practitioners more time to develop ideas, build relationships and solve business problems.

Angela Malkin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: "For decades, communications has been about earning attention. Today, it's about Earning Authority.

"The fundamentals haven't changed. Great ideas, trusted relationships and independent credibility still influence decisions. What has changed is how people find information.

"People search differently. Journalists work differently. AI is becoming another gateway to information. Brands need to become trusted sources across all of them, and that's why we built VOCAL."

Jami Gandha, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: "Clients are asking for experienced people who stay close to the work, understand their business and deliver measurable commercial impact.

We use AI to remove administration, not relationships. That gives our team more time to think strategically, create stronger ideas and focus on the work that makes the biggest difference for clients."

Joining Co-Founders Angela and Jami in VOCAL’s leadership team are Addie Freyne, Head of Strategy, who developed the agency’s proprietary methodologies including the Earned Authority Index and IDEAS Engine, and Client Director Akina Taniguchi.

Founder of SOCIETY Marketing Communications, Dena Vassallo, has launched CREW, a new communications intelligence company. The company was created to address what it claims to be one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: turning communications data into meaningful measurement and actionable intelligence.

CREW connects signals across communications, audiences, media, reputation, LLM visibility, and the broader market to help organisations build measurement systems around their communications objectives. It then uses intelligence and AI-enabled analysis to help teams understand what matters, what’s working, what may be shifting, and where communications and marketing leaders should focus next.

The company has been established independently of SOCIETY, with CREW designed for use by brands, communications teams, and the broader communications industry.

“Over the years, I've heard the same frustration from brands again and again: ‘I know communications matters, but I need a better way to demonstrate its impact.’ CREW is our answer to that problem.

“The opportunity isn’t to give communicators more data. They already have it. It is to give them greater clarity, stronger measurement, and the intelligence to know what matters and what to do next.”