AGENCY NEWS.

Swanson Russell Associates, Lincoln, Neb., has been named the marketing communications agency of record for Becket Underwood, Inc., an Ames, Iowa-based manufacturer and marketer of specialty colorants and bio-agronomic products. Becker Underwood's products are marketed to the turf management, agriculture, seed treatment, wood recycling, aquaculture, vegetation management, forestry and structural pest control industries.

The Venture Group, Calgary, Alberta, buys Bridge Communications, London, Ontario, and rebrands itself as Venture Communications. The purchase of Bridge provides Venture with a full-service marketing communications company specializing in agriculture and the life sciences area, a targeted area for growth within the company as a whole.

Merial, Iselin, N.J., has named Bader Rutter & Associates, Brookfield, Wis., as its public relations agency of record for beef, dairy and sheep products in the United States and Canada. Last year, Merial chose Bader Rutter as its agency of record for advertising and other related communications services for the same market segments. The brands to be marketed focus on Merial's line of cattle parasiticides. Gibbs & Soell Public Relations will continue as Merial's public relations agency of record for corporate communications.