Präzision, or precision in English, is the watchword in today’s release. We’re starting with German engineering.

Accenture is acquiring umlaut, an engineering consulting and services firm with its HQ in Aachen, Germany. The move will scale up Accenture’s deep engineering capabilities as it works with companies using the cloud, AI, and 5G to transform how they design, engineer, and manufacture their products.

“We predicted that digital would ultimately be applied at scale to the core of a company’s business – the design, engineering and manufacturing of their products. And, for nearly a decade Accenture has been building the unique capabilities and ecosystem partnerships to combine the power of digital with traditional engineering services,” said Julie Sweet, Accenture’s CEO. “COVID-19 has accelerated the need for companies to transform these core operations, and umlaut’s leading and highly-specialized engineering services will enhance our ability to meet the accelerating demand and also continue innovating for our clients.

Press Release: https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-to-acquire-umlaut.htm

Strawberry Frog released its Purpose Power Index for 2021.  The empirical study examines consumer perceptions of brand purpose and separates woke-washing from what consumers believe are actual business ethics in action.

The topline results show some remarkable differences between the top-ranked companies of 2019 versus our late-stage pandemic perceptions of 2021.

Fast forward to this year, amidst a crisis, and the link between reputation and purpose grew stronger, with many new winners outside of the norm rising to the top:
●      Big Pharma: Think Pfizer, Abbvie and GSK. All of these companies ranked near the bottom of the 2019 list of 200 brands. Positive perceptions of their purpose saw them rise dramatically in rank, possibly with every job we got in our arms

• Bold Innovation: SpaceX and Tesla rose to the top of the list
• Pandemic Heroism: Brands like Clorox, 3M and Kimberly Clark were recognized for going above and beyond the call of duty to keep households safe and supplied with cleaner surfaces and masks

More info: https://www.purposepowerindex.com/purpose-power-index-study-2021

Fundraising for the homeless teens generated the most creative PR campaigns in 2020. Congratulations to Covenant House and its agency Weber Shadwick. The Canadian Public Relations Society, Toronto Chapter held the annual “Achieving Communications Excellence” Awards, last night with Weber Shadwick taking home two trophies.  They didn’t tell us about the virtual party, but they did issue a press release.

Press release: https://www.businesswire.com/news/canadacom/20210615006136/en/Canadian-Public-Relations-Society-CPRS-Toronto-Chapter-Announces-the-2021-Achieving-Communications-Excellence-ACE-Awards-Winners

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Kate Baggott is a former Managing Editor of B2BNN. Her technology and business journalism has appeared in the Technology Review, the Globe and Mail, Canada Computes, the Vancouver Sun and the Bay Street Bull. She is the author of the short story collections Love from Planet Wine Cooler and Dry Stories. Find links to recent articles by following her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-baggott-9a0306/