Hasta La Creative!

Last week, Adweek broke the news that the leadership of WPP’s digital agency Possible would be leaving for an unspecified “unicorn” startup following the announcement that it would be folded into the Wunderman network.

Yesterday, global CEO Shane Atchison named his new employer: it’s Domo, a business intelligence SaaS (software as service) company based in Utah’s “Silicon Slopes.” He will be CMO and Possible U.S. president Jason Burby will be chief customer success officer. In their place, Martha Hiefield is taking over as CEO of the Americas.

In an interview posted yesterday with LinkedIn’s Daniel Roth, Atchison called the move a natural one, given his focus on data and artificial intelligence at Possible.

We can’t embed the video, but you get the basic idea. Here’s the new CMO’s quote from the press release:

“I’ve seen first-hand what real-time marketing data can do to improve business outcomes at the world’s most valuable brands. The new way to work is about leveraging that same power across an entire organization to help all areas of the business improve and to keep organizations competitive. I’m thrilled to help tell the story of how the Fortune 50 and companies of all sizes are using Domo to change the way they run their business, and I’m looking forward to being part of the team Josh [James, Domo CEO] has assembled to capitalize on this massive opportunity as we help organizations realize the success of being truly data-driven.”

Again, it’s all about those numbers. Also worth noting that Atchison and Burby, who have founded more than one agency together, have known Josh James for some time and worked with him in the past.

Domo’s last fundraising round was this April, when it brought in $100 million. Current estimates value the company, which specializes in aggregating data from multiple sources like Facebook, Salesforce and Google Analytics, at more than $2.3 billion.

Mass-market retailer Gap Inc. or The Gap recently launched a review seeking an agency to handle its U.S. digital media planning and buying duties, according to parties close to the business.

We don’t yet know which agencies are involved, but since the review is being led by a consultancy, it’s fair to say that some of the major players are pitching. The review remains in its early stages.

This development is in keeping with Gap’s ongoing attempts to adjust to a rapidly shifting retail market.

Craig Brommers, formerly of Abercrombie & Fitch and Speedo, became the company’s CMO just over a year ago. Well before his arrival, however, Gap became one of the first big-name clients to publicly eschew the agency of record model by moving work away from Ogilvy toward other shops on its roster around the world.

The client eventually split with Ogilvy entirely, bringing on Wieden+Kennedy as its new creative partner in 2014 before again pivoting to project-based work with agencies like Untitled Worldwide at some point last year. Similarly, Gap does not publicize its media agency relationships.

On a conference call last August, president and CEO Art Peck announced that the company planned to expand its marketing budget in an effort to counter sales trends that have lagged behind sister company Old Navy.

On that note, Gap remains a major account. According to the latest numbers from Kantar Media, the chain spent $178 million on paid media in the U.S. last year and $42 million during the first quarter of 2017. It’s not clear what percentage of that spend is digital.

The company’s most recent OOO promotions have garnered some media attention including a mention from uptown girl Christie Brinkley, who praised Gap for featuring a 63-year old woman in its ads. (That woman is herself.)

Gap’s media relations department has not responded to requests for comment on the review.

Global Team Blue, the WPP agency dedicated to servicing Ford Motor Company around the world, went through two significant rounds of layoffs across multiple offices around the world this week.

Those affected include both lower-level staff, who were notified yesterday, and agency leadership, who purportedly learned about the change this morning. According to several parties who alerted us to the news, the total number of employees dismissed is currently between 50 and 100 in GTB’s Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters as well as its London and Shanghai offices.

“If you look at the history of GTB … it has always adjusted and adapted to how best to serve the client with the right talent, expertise and geography based on what was needed in the marketplace, and that will continue to happen,” said a WPP spokesperson commenting on behalf of the agency. “Our relationship with Ford is strong, robust and working across six continents.”

A representative for Ford declined to comment on the news, and the WPP spokesperson said that, as a general policy, the agency does not comment on personnel changes.

The reasons for this development are not clear, but Ford is set to announce its second quarter earnings results next week. Like most major automakers, the company faces significant challenges to its market share, specifically the recent rise in electric and hybrid vehicles as well as the Google-led shift toward self-driving cars. Other observers theorize that the American auto industry has reached its sales peak.

Long known as Team Detroit, the WPP network rebranded itself in February 2016.

Early this year, the organization parted with its chief creative officer Toby Barlow after more than a decade. According to multiple sources, leaders let go this week include Betsy Lazar, the longtime General Motors executive who joined GTB as chief media officer in 2013 after holding a similar role at Kellogg.

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