The St. Paul Pioneer Press takes a look at Fallon’s latest trials and tribulations:
Todd Riddle just got one of the top advertising jobs in the Twin Cities, as creative director at Fallon Worldwide’s Minneapolis headquarters. So why are ad watchers already wondering how long he’ll last?
The Twin Cities’ second-largest agency has seen a lot of turnover at the top lately. Riddle is Fallon’s third creative director in less than two years.
He succeeds Kerry Feuerman, who quit last week, just one year after joining the agency to replace Bruce Bildsten, who left in the fall of 2005.
One local adman, Greg Kurowski, president of Minneapolis-based Periscope, said the departures of talent and clients are linked. “The downward spiral of any agency is people, then clients,” Kurowski said.
Riddle’s promotion marks a change of pace from Fallon’s recent top hires. Feuerman and Silburn were outsiders, hailing from Chicago and London, respectively. But Riddle is a five-year Fallon veteran. The agency also has named insiders to fill the posts of its recently departed chief financial officer and a few other senior-level executives.
Appointing Riddle signals an attempt to “stop the bleeding,” Kurowski said, and encourages other Fallonites to stay.