Advertising Age - Agency News

Five Great Agency Ideas From Around the World

Japan's Hakuhodo took the prize for Ad Age's International Agency of the Year last month, but many of those who didn't win submitted ideas you can learn from. Here are five of the best, culled from Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Beyond the Runway: Meet the PR Pros Who Run Fashion Week

You're not likely to have heard of them, but PR Consulting, BPCM and KCD are three of the most-influential shops in the fashion biz. We take a closer look.

What Does Bank of America Want From Its New Agency? A Silver Bullet

According to a briefing document circulated as part of its pitch, BofA is eager to find a new direction -- and fast.

Ogilvy Working With Susan G. Komen for the Cure in PR Crisis
Who's the PR agency for Susan G. Komen for the Cure? Ogilvy, which was brought on eight months ago and now has its hands full trying to manage crisis communications for the charity now under fire.

Chrysler Will Relaunch in U.K. With Super Bowl Spot on Sky

The U.K. doesn't have a lot of Super Bowl fans, but Chrysler hopes to wow them on Sunday by relaunching the brand during the British broadcast of the game on Sky satellite TV.

HP Launches Creative Review for PC Division

Hewlett-Packard is on the hunt for a global creative agency to handle marketing for its personal computing division, long the marketing star of the company.

Saatchi Snags Kraft's Kool-Aid, Capri Sun

Kraft is once again rejiggering its roster, handing Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi creative duties for Kool-Aid and Capri Sun, previously handled by WPP's Ogilvy.

Unilever Taps Profero for Global Tresemme Work

Unilever has tapped indie shop Profero to handle global digital duties for Tresemme shampoos and conditioners, a brand the packaged goods giant acquired as part of its $3.7 billion purchase of Alberto-Culver.

Kraft Layoffs Reach Global Media VP Mark Stewart

Mark Stewart, VP of global media at Kraft Foods, will leave the company as part of a major corporate overhaul.

Brazil Shop Splits With StrawberryFrog and Seeks New Partner

Fast-growing Brazilian agency PeraltaStrawberryFrog split with its international partner today and expects to close a deal with a new international network in March.

Tecate Consolidates U.S. Advertising With Mexican Agency

In a cost-saving move, Heineken's Tecate beer brand is shifting U.S. advertising from Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners' U.S. Hispanic unit Ramona to its longtime Mexican agency, Olabuenaga Chemistri, the brewer told Ad Age.

Merck Taps McCann to Handle Creative Duties for Several Brands
Interpublic Group of Cos.' McCann Worldgroup, via its health-and-wellness practice HumanCare, has been awarded consumer creative duties for several Merck brands.

Miller Lite Looks Beyond DraftFCB

MillerCoors is bringing roster agency Saatchi & Saatchi aboard to assist DraftFCB on a campaign for the struggling Miller Lite, Ad Age has learned.

M&C Saatchi Hires Jeff Brooks to Open New York Office

M&C Saatchi will reopen in New York next month; it has hired Jeff Brooks, CEO and chief digital officer at Euro RSCG for the past year, as CEO of the office.

Pay-for-Performance Starts to Gain Steam

Pay-for-performance is like an urban legend of media buying and planning. But with increasingly sophisticated measurement and planning tools, the concept is morphing into a reality that could in some cases replace the traditional fee model.

Shops Begin the Year With Layoffs
MDC Partners' CP&B and Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, this week let go just under 5% of its staff, while WPP Group's Ogilvy earlier in the month laid off 60 people out of its overall staff of 2,000. What does this mean for the industry?

Bertucci's Hires SapientNitro as Part of Overhaul of the Restaurant Brand
"We were looking for an agency that could help us figure out the next generation of customers," Skip Weldon, senior VP-marketing at Bertucci's, told Ad Age.

Buffalo Wild Wings Taps Fallon

Growing restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings has made its first creative agency change in seven years, tapping Publicis Groupe's Fallon as its new lead creative shop without a review.

Dominic Proctor Elevated to President of Group M

As part of a WPP management restructuring, Mindshare's worldwide CEO, Dominic Proctor, has been promoted to the newly created role of Group M president.

Unilever's Slim-Fast Taps New Agency, Preps Brand Refresh
The Bull-White House has landed on the roster of packaged-goods giant Unilever. The agency will handle lead creative duties for Slim-Fast, including TV, print, digital and experiential.

Ewanick on GM Media Review: 'Should Have Done This Many Years Ago'

General Motors' Joel Ewanick insists that it wasn't only money but quality that drove his decision to place GM's $3 billion global media-buying and -planning account with Aegis' Carat agency.

GM Parks $3 Billion Media Account at Carat

General Motors has consolidated its $3 billion global media-buying and -planning account with Aegis' Carat as part of its ongoing effort to create efficiencies and cut costs and agencies.

Steve Stoute Hires Chief Creative Officer at Translation
As part of his plan to evolve Translation from a multicultural agency into a general-market shop, Steve Stoute has tapped Chris Cereda to serve as the agency's new chief creative officer.

What Ad Agencies Should Be Cribbing From the Campaign Trail

There are a lot of things politicos get wrong, but when it comes to their advertising campaigns, there are a few things they get right that could help your agency

Organic Is Ad Age's Comeback Agency of the Year

Thanks to its resilience, Organic has earned new business from Kimberly-Clark, Nike, Visa, Walmart, which in total has replaced the $22 million Bank of America took away from the agency.

Edelman Is No. 8 on the Ad Age Agency A-List

Despite Edelman's massive size, its client-retention rate is second to none -- it lost only one top-50 retainer client in 2011, Burger King -- and its year-over-year growth and strong relationships can turn any shop, not just those in the PR space, green with envy.

Grey Is No. 7 on the Ad Age Agency A-List

The agency Jim Heekin walks into every morning is far different from the one he became head of in 2005. Then, Grey's New York headquarters could have been mistaken for a typical insurance company there was so little excitement at the WPP shop. That's no longer the case.

72andSunny Is No. 5 on the Ad Age Agency A-List

72andSunny's approach is far more democratic than that of most agencies, and an understanding prevails that a great idea can come from anywhere, not just the creative department.

OMD Is Ad Age's Media Agency of the Year

A robust new-business story is a traditional indicator of strength in the media-agency space, but the best shops couple that with a track record of innovative media strategies. OMD had both last year.

BBDO Is No. 3 on Ad Age's Agency A-List

In 2011, BBDO won every global pitch it participated in and about two-thirds of its U.S. pitches. Revenue is up 15%, while globally, revenue has increased 18% to an estimated $2.4 billion.