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M&A: W2O Group early today acquired Marketeching Solutions, LLC, a research and social listening consultancy specializing in healthcare and life sciences. Founded in 2008 by Kevin Johnson, Marketeching has offices in New Hope, PA, and Philadelphia. Johnson will remain, operating Marketeching as a subsidiary of W2O. Earlier this year, Mountaingate Capital secured an investment position in W20 to propel growth through acquisitions.

So you’ve been thinking about finally getting started with a brand Snapchat account, and all of a sudden, a new competitor comes along: Instagram Stories. An admitted copycat of Snapchat, Instagram Stories seems like a platform where you could produce the same content, which would be viewed in the same way. What’s your next move? Flip a coin?

Succinct, well-written, properly formatted writing is important; not only does it mitigate any embarrassing errors that could cost your brand some dignity points, but it also will further endear you to your clients and professional contacts as someone who can produce work that won’t require more work.

A PR pitch has about eight seconds to grab a reporter’s attention before it gets ignored, marked as spam or deleted. And while the text within the pitch copy might suit a particular reporter’s beat to a T, major outlets have become increasingly reliant on video and photo content amidst the current visual-thirsty digital landscape. So, to risk being passed over for coverage, today’s PR professionals must be able to incorporate visual assets into their content. Here are four best practices for incorporating visuals into content targeted at the media.

Starbucks released a new cup design to celebrate community Nov. 1, and in a very much precedented turn of events, people are upset about it. A misperception that this is the 2016 design for Starbucks’ annual holiday cup plus a side of political baggage has made for some heated Twitter commentary.

From the typically right-brained perspective of PR, securing a high rank in search results can seem like an opaque process. While a comprehensive knowledge of search algorithms and web crawlers is handy, there’s more to SEO success than understanding the numbers. In fact, it’s possible to rank highly on Google with small teams and a tiny budget.

There are so many lessons for brands and brand communicators to learn from the awful mishap in Australia late last month. It vies with Wells Fargo for one of the poorest performances during a crisis, ensuring its enshrinement in PR textbooks and classrooms for years to come.

Hype’s only brand adopters as of this writing are News One, MTV and TechCrunch. But for brand communicators who have been looking for “the next Snapchat” now that teens’ parents are sharing Snapchat Stories, Hype might just be the one to watch.

Barack Obama is back on Snapchat. While the president still doesn’t have his own account, Obama will make an appearance on the “Good Luck America” Snapchat story, according to The New York Times. Available for 48 hours starting at 6 a.m. on Nov. 1, the Times reports that this installment will provide a behind-the-scenes look into Obama’s campaign efforts for Hillary Clinton, including footage of endorsements of the candidate and a ride in the presidential motorcade.

At Disney’s theme parks, its “cast members” focus on uncovering and delivering on what the customer wants—not just on what the customer asks. Disney staff are taught to identify and respond to the underlying concerns—to build a strategy for success, not just answer a question and leave the room.