Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods of Little Rock said Wednesday that it has hired Mark Raines as its new vice president of public relations.
Raines previously worked as director of external affairs and government relations for BHP Billiton Petroleum in Arkansas and Louisiana.
Before that, Raines was news director of KTHV-TV, Channel 11, from 1999 to 2007. And before that, in the mid-1990s, he worked at CJRW as a public relations account executive.
"Mark is highly regarded as one of the most experienced communications professionals in Arkansas," said Darin Gray, who joined the Little Rock ad firm as president in February. "He is a tremendous addition to our team and will be a valuable counselor to our clients."
Richard McKeown, CJRW's chief public relations officer, said Raines will be responsible for managing public relations clients across all agency locations and throughout the state. He will also be involved in identifying and developing new business opportunities, he said.
The hire comes after some key agency depatures. Denver Peacock, formerly CJRW's senior vice president of public affairs, left the agency in April. Around that same time, three other agency executives, brothers Jay, Chris and Ross Cranford, also left the firm. Scott Caldwell, the company’s senior vice president for marketing services in northwest Arkansas, had also resigned to join Catapult Marketing, a Connecticut firm with offices in northwest Arkansas.
But the agency has also hired two new marketing veterans in northwest Arkansas: Brian Rudisill was named president of CJRW's Northwest Arkansas division, and Denise Davis was hired as the firm's director of operations.
The moves come at a time when the advertising, marketing and public relations shop has been wrestling with a changing industry.
