NEW YORK—Havas PR North America has formally launched Havas Conexiones, an agency within an agency that helps brands connect with Hispanics. The new multicultural practice offers coverage from offices in California, New York and Texas and is led by five Latinas with Argentinean, Cuban, El Salvadoran, Mexican and Puerto Rican backgrounds. “Growing up with one foot in our home countries and another in the US gives us automatically the ability to think empathetically like global citizens,” says Mayra Meza, Havas Conexiones media relations director. “We factor in our deep-seated traditions with our American acculturation to homogenize the perfect fusion that we know brands seek. If we know it, we can communicate it seamlessly.”

SANTIAGO—Spanish public relations giant Inforpress is opening in Chile, adding a Santiago office to existing Latin American operations in Brazil, Colombia and Peru. The Inforpress team in Chile is led by Cristina Legares and Javier Ureta. Legares has held positions of responsibility in Chilean, Spanish and Argentinean companies, and most recently with Wines of Chile. Javier Ureta has worked in the consultancy sector and for the past four years in communications for the Chilean government.

BUFFALO—Buffalo-based public relations firm Travers Collins has been acquired by The Martin Group, an advertising and digital agency founded in 2000 by Tod Martin, who earlier in his career was a vice president and creative director at Travers Collins. Co-founder William Collins will stay on as a senior consultant to help with the transition through the next few months.