ATHENS—Burson-Marsteller is joining forces with Publicom, a WPP-owned agency that provices brand communications, corporate communications, financial communications, media relations, social media, reputation and crisis management services in Greece, to launch Publicom Burson-Marsteller.

LONDON—Mischief PR has been appointed as the retained consumer PR and social agency for luxury British cruise line Cunard, which operates a portfolio that includes ocean liners Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. Mischief will work with Cunard's PR, marketing, social and comms team to build brand love and advocacy amongst its target consumers, in addition to working with the brand's key partners. It will also support Cunard's array of event cruises.

LAGOS—Edelman has inked a deal with Chain Reactions Nigeria, which becomes its exclusive affiliate in the country following a one-year strategic partnership. The affiliation further expands Edelman's existing operation outside its South African office, located in Johannesburg.

LONDON—Clarity PR, which specialises in working with fast-growing technology businesses, has won the brief to handle PR for pioneering advertising technology business Adyoulike. Clarity’s teams in London and New York will handle media relations, events and thought leadership in the UK and North America.

PARIS—Hopscotch Group’s alliance with Sopexa and Comexposium—announced in August—has been validated by the French competition authority. Hopscotch will take a 33 percent stake in both Comexposium and Sopexa, an international agency specializing in food, wine and lifestyle communication.

LONDON—International agency Gutenberg has named Neil Ashurst as director and country head for UK. Prior to joining Gutenberg, Ashurst was at Performance Communications, working on the Nissan Europe account. He has also worked at UK agencies Frank, Brands2Life and 3Monkeys Zeno on brands such as Microsoft and 3 Mobile as well as being the head of UK communications for retailer Game.

PARIS—After a competitive pitch, Intuitive Surgical—a leader in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery—has appointed Cohn & Wolfe for public affairs, media relations, and stakeholder outreach assistance in France.

LONDON—Smythson of Bond Street, the British luxury leather goods company, has appointed Threepipe to manage a series of social media campaigns designed to support both online and offline sales. Threepipe began working with Smythson in August to build brand awareness and has implemented a variety of different tactics from lead generation to online traffic and footfall drivers.