ATLANTA—Husqvarna, a leading producer of outdoor power products, has appointed Ketchum as public relations agency of record for its US division. Through a network team based in Atlanta, Ketchum will provide public relations support to increase awareness and sales of the Husqvarna brand and its professional and consumer-focused products and services, including chainsaws, trimmers, lawn mowers and garden tractors.

CHICAGO—Phonak, a global developer, producer and distributor of state-of-the-art hearing systems, appointed Ketchum as agency of record for its US division. The account will be led by Ketchum’s Chicago office, which is located near Phonak’s US headquarters in Warrenville, Ill. The firm also will help Phonak leverage the work of its Hear the World Foundation and its commitment to driving awareness of hearing health and early detection of hearing loss.

PORTLAND, OR—Lane PR has been named agency of record for the Oregon Ryegrass, Tall Fescue and Fine Fescue Commissions to run a large national consumer campaign touting the benefits of natural turf and to promote the value of fine turf in residential, commercial, municipal and sports field environments. Lane PR will dedicate staff from its offices in Portland and New York to spread the message of the value of fine turf. The campaign will focus on the environmental and societal benefits of natural lawns.

SAN FRANCISCO—Borders + Gratehouse has added three new cloud solutions to its portfolio of clients. AppDirect, SoftLayer and Xero join a growing client roster that spans cloud infrastructure, SMB and enterprise services as well as green and consumer technologies.

NEW YORK—Stuntman, a consumer lifestyle public relations agency, has been named the agency of record for The Bedford. The Bedford joins Stuntman’s roster of lifestyle and hospitality clients, which includes Kanon Organic Vodka and the Martin Lawrence Gallery. Stuntman will collaborate with Atomic Hospitality Group and will implement a fully-integrated media relations, social media and event marketing campaign.

LOS ANGELES—The Marina del Rey Convention & Visitors Bureau has selected Blaze as its agency of record. Blaze has implemented a targeted communications campaign that integrated media relations and social media practices to enhance the visibility of Marina del Rey and to support the area’s local businesses, and will continue its efforts throughout 2012.

ATLANTA—BeQuick Software, a hosted BSS/OSS provider, has tapped Calysto Communications to manage its social and traditional public relations program. Calysto will support strategic planning, content development, content delivery and brand awareness development for BeQuick. Activities include messaging, media and analyst relations, and social media.

LOS ANGELES—VPE Public Relations, a national Hispanic-owned communications agency, has added five new accounts to its steadily growing client roster: AbilityFirst, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Building Healthy Communities Eastern Coachella Valley, Valley Presbyterian Hospital and Hulu. Objectives for THE new clients include national and regional media relations, launching a new Spanish-language website, digital marketing, and developing communications plans.

NEW YORK—Smart Vent Products, a leader in flood damage mitigation products, has selected Camelot Communications as its agency of record. “As we strive to increase our footprint in the U.S. market, it was important for us to partner with a firm that understands consumers as well as the architects, contractors, remodelers and builders who will specify our products,” says Tom Little, vice president of Smart Product Innovations.

NEW YORK—Bailout, a documentary feature film that accuses big money-center banks of perpetrating a broad array of frauds on the American middle class, has selected Workhouse as agency of record. Workhouse will develop integrated promotional campaigns that synchronize communication efforts and will execute a comprehensive public relations plan on behalf of the film festivals, screenings and special promotions.

ATLANTA—High-tech PR specialist Arketi Group has been chosen by Jacada, a leading global provider of call center technology, as its agency of record. Arketi will lead ongoing public relations efforts, including messaging and positioning and a new product launch.