McGarry Bowen, one of the largest independent ad boutiques in New York, has given in to its Japanese suitor, according to a story in today's Wall Street Journal. In buying McGarry Bowen, Dentsu will be acquiring an agency with a solid reputation and close ties to big marketers. Its clients include Hewlett-Packard and J.P. Morgan Chase. McGarry Bowen had about $57 million in revenue last year. The deal also comes …
Big Old Pile of Dirty Laundry
Agency.com is pissed. The Omnicom digital shop contends iCrossing raided its staff and its client roster. A Dallas court will now decide the affair. Agency.com is asking for $19.5 million in damages. Here's how the The Wall Street Journal frames the case: Madison Avenue agencies typically refrain airing such dirty laundry. The suit exemplifies the concern in the ad business about a lack of digital-minded talent. The …
Don’t Advertise, Connect.
Mailing lists are not sexy, but they can be highly effective tools for reaching one's core audience. Take this simple email newsletter from Trumpet in New Orleans that comes to my inbox once a month: It's a nice newsletter, but there has to be something on the other side of my click for it to work. In Trumpet's case there is. From a content perspective they have the ideal website and the best example I've seen from …
The War On Talent
Recently, I heard there was yet another ad industry conference panel discussion entitled "How to Win The War For Talent." I rolled my eyes. There's no war for talent. Not in the ad industry. I explain why in my new column for Talent Zoo, which you can read after the jump. …
For Cliff Freeman, Any Award Is A Good Award
I remember back about 10 years ago, Creativity Magazine used to spotlight a new, whacked-out Cliff Freeman commercial every month. There were a bunch of classics back then. And they used to keep a big card table in the lobby to display all the One Show Pencils they won. So it's a little strange to find them send out press releases that make a big deal of smaller awards shows: Cliff Freeman & Partners, an …
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GSD&M Idea City Has The Right Idea
Gregory Solman of Adweek claims that Austin-based GSD&M Idea City is getting some swagger back in its boot step after some tough account losses. image courtesy of Flickr user, andreanna Solman also examines the shop's "Purpose Branding" platform: For GSD&M, COO Duff Stewart, said, "purpose-based branding" meant helping Southwest Airlines understand that it was "not in the airline business but the freedom …
Agency Shakey Shakey
I remember thinking about five or six years ago how if I went to a digital shop, I'd be pigeon-holed in their creative cul de sac. WRONG! According to Ad Age, digital shops are now beating traditional shops for agency-of-record status. While most clients still seek best-in-class specialists for every discipline, more are showing interest in digital agencies to serve as the lead on integrated communications efforts, …
A CMO’s Perspective
"Clients get the advertising they deserve." I trot out that one a lot, and former Comcast CMO, Marvin O. Davis, explores the issue further in a great Adweek column: I recall an occasion when I was traveling with several company executives. Everyone was expressing their opinion on their favorite and least-favorite company commercials. When I mentioned a few ads I didn't particularly like, one exec was startled and …
