Interpublic CEO Michael Roth Is Convinced This Latest Lowe Merger Can Work
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News this week that Interpublic will once again rejigger the operations of Lowe, its global micronetwork, and make Detroit shop Campbell Ewald its U.S. hub has been met with some skepticism in adland.
After all, London-based Lowe’s attempts at having a U.S. market presence haven’t been successful in the past and it’s been through lots of mergers in its past. It’s not even the first time the shop has been aligned with Campbell Ewald. According to the Ad Age DataCenter, CE in the 1980s and 1990s was part of Interpublic’s Lintas worldwide network, a predecessor to the Lowe network. CE joined the Lintas network in October 1987, operating as Lintas:Campbell-Ewald. The agency changed its name back to Campbell Ewald in May 1995, though for a period the agency continued to be part of the Lintas network. In 1999, Lintas (operating as Ammirati Puris Lintas) merged with Lowe, forming Lowe Lintas; Lowe Lintas shortened its name to Lowe in 2001.
Few in the industry recall that partnership. Chairman-CEO Michael Roth — who’s been very hands on, participating in the Cadillac pitch and handpicking shops that work together — claims this time, Lowe Campbell Ewald will go down in the books as a success story. Here, his plans for the newly-combined shop, as well as his thoughts on pitching clients using agency “teams” and the role of the holding company in 2013.
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