Ragan Communications announced that it has acquired Communications Week, the preeminent event and thought leadership brand for communicators and marketers worldwide. The acquisition fortifies Ragan’s position serving public relations, internal communications and marketing professionals with best-in-class content and experiences.
Ragan Communications, a media and training company educating and supporting more than 200,000 communicators and marketers worldwide, acquired the trademark name, intellectual property and other assets of Communications Week from Kite Hill PR. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Designed to give voice to this vibrant, diverse and essential industry, Communications Week 2021, slated for November 15-19, will feature thought-provoking and real-world educational sessions on topics including crisis management, social media, employee engagement, media relations, diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I), environmental, social & governance (ESG), comms technology and digital marketing.
As hundreds of thousands of professionals will mark their calendars for mid-November, Communications Week will also provide a year-round online platform to shine a spotlight on the role of communicators through commsweek.com and sister sites PRDaily.com and Ragan.com.
“Communications is the heart and soul of an organization and Communications Week embodies that viewpoint,” says Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan Communications. “With Communications Week, we plan to help our community gain more meaningful traction within their organizations by giving them unique access to the industry’s leading minds and ideas.”
Ragan Communications produces more than 60 conferences, webinars and workshops a year, runs three membership groups including the Communications Leadership Council, and its Ragan Training is the industry’s leading online learning portal. Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference will headline Communications Week.
Communications Week, founded in 2014 by Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO of Kite Hill PR, has built a reputation for industry-leading conferences, webinars and networking events. The 2021 event will include a wide array of industry partners hosting events plus those presented by Ragan. Communications Week has a global reach, with in-person events previously held in New York, Toronto, London and Hamburg.
“When I founded Communications Week, I set out to create a community for PR, marketing and media professionals to discuss and debate the most pressing issues the communicators face,” says Guarnaccia. “We are thrilled to have Communications Week join the Ragan Communications family as we continue to connect, inspire and inform the industry.”
Guarnaccia will continue to focus on the growth of Kite Hill PR, where she remains founder and CEO. The Kite Hill PR team, which has shepherded Communications Week from its inception, will continue its involvement as a supporting partner.
The theme and agenda of Communications Week 2021 will be unveiled in May, with Schwartz and Guarnaccia serving as co-chairs of the event. Industry partners and sponsors participating in Communications Week will be announced soon.