Rubel Moves to Edelman

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Public relations pro and blog marketing evangelist Steve Rubel is leaving CooperKatz to join Edelman's word-of-mouth practice.

Rubel, formerly VP of client services at CooperKatz, will be a senior VP at Edelman, charged with helping the team win new word-of-mouth (WOM) business as well as developing and executing client programs. The role will be similar to the one he held at CooperKatz, but at a larger organization, Rubel wrote in his Micro Persuasion blog.

"After five years at CooperKatz, I felt it was time for me to take the next step in my evolution," Rubel wrote. He expects to begin his new job at month's end.

Rubel has been an outspoken proponent of blogs as corporate communications tools and is a regular speaker at industry events. At CooperKatz, he led blog marketing campaigns for clients including Vespa, WeatherBug, and the Association of National Advertisers.

Rubel will work under Rick Murray, general manager of Edelman's diversified services portfolio, which includes WOM initiatives. "Rick is driving a smart group that is developing breakthrough word of mouth marketing programs that utilize new technologies and processes," Rubel wrote.

The year-old CooperKatz practice that shared its name with Rubel's blog will be renamed Cogence, short for consumer-generated intelligence. Rubel will keep the Micro Persuasion name for his blog, but Edelman won't use the name for any of its services.

According to Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, Rubel will help Edelman reach its goal of persuading more corporate clients, particularly Fortune 500s, to commit to blogging.

"This is a missed opportunity to learn from consumers, to allow employees to be the first line of credible offense for corporate initiatives, to reach out to stakeholders such as NGOs and to co-create the brand story and corporate reputation with informed and passionate on-line participants," Edelman wrote in his blog.