Hasta La Creative!

Four companies located across the U.S. have agreed to consolidate and become AMP Agency, a marketing network focused on delivering “the new ‘all touchpoints’ Holy Grail” to clients.

L.A.’s BLITZ digital and Seattle experiential shop 206Agency will roll into the pre-existing AMP Agency, which has existed since 1994 and initially targeted college students; it currently maintains offices in Boston and New York. The group will also encompass Adlucent, a digital media and analytics company based in Austin, Texas.

The four entities are all part of Advantage Solutions, a privately owned agency network focusing on retail and ecommerce clients.

AMP handles a range of work for clients such as Facebook, Amazon, LinkedIn and Maybelline New York that stretches from retail activations and CRM to influencer campaigns and assorted “marketing ecosystems.”

AMP agency CEO and co-founder Gary Colen will lead the new organization, which employs more than 300 across its five offices.

“While we have been collaborating behind the scenes for several years, by more fully integrating, we have the ability to affect change seamlessly at every touch-point of the customer journey,” Colen said. “Under one roof, communication flows without barriers, and our teams connect in real time, modifying creative or media placements to respond to campaign performance and driving campaigns better results for our clients.”

McCann Health has promoted June Laffey to executive vice president, chief creative officer of its New York office.

Laffey will relocate to New York from Sydney, where she served as executive creative director for McCann Health Australia for over seven and a half years. She also served as president of the pharma jury at Cannes Lions Health last year.

“To be entrusted to lead the creative teams in two of the highest-performing agencies in our network is truly exciting,” Laffey said in a statement published by FiercePharma, adding that partnering with McCann Health New York president Leo Tarkovsky, “who is not only incredibly successful, but smart and driven, is the cherry on the cake—or should I say the salt on the pretzel. For me, New York means new beginnings and a new opportunity to make a difference with ideas that can change, empower and even save lives.”

Laffey’s appointment follows the recent arrival of Linda Szyper as global chief operating officer and promotion of Marcus Sigurdsson to global chief digtial officer.

Szyper formerly spent two and a half years as chief commercial officer for Circassia Pharmaceuticals and most recently served as an independent life sciences consultant. Sigurdsson formerly served in the chief digital role for McCann Health Asia Pacific.

Saatchi & Saatchi chairman and chief strategy officer Richard Huntington and his fashion designer wife Annabel Bird responded today to the viral, negative attention they garnered for launching a GoFundMe page to foot a £7,500 ($10,632) vet bill for their dog, a four-year-old Welsh Terrier named Edward Lear, who happens to be an Instagram star.

Bird started out thanking everyone who donated to the pup’s cause in an update on the crowd-funding page she created earlier this month.

Richard Huntington, Saatchi & Saatchi chairman and CSO.

“Unfortunately, his page has received some negative press because of who my husband Richard works for,” she continued. “As you know, this page was set up for our friends and family and those of mine and Edward’s Instagram followers who kindly asked to donate money to help with his recovery. This is not uncommon in the dog community on Instagram which is a wholly supportive and wonderful place to hang out.”

Bird concluded that her “only concern has been for Edward” but told those who now may wish to withdraw their donation to email her directly.

The news that Huntington and Bird launched the GoFundMe page, which so far raised £5,365, to fund treatment for Edward from celebrity vet Noel Fitzpatrick, was first reported by the Daily News U.K.

In the original GoFundMe post, Bird explained Edward has elbow dysplasia in one of his front legs and torn cruciate ligaments in both rear legs, plus arthritis. The couple’s usual vet referred them to the specialty Fitzpatrick who could operate on the pooch. But their insurance only covered £4,000 of the total £11,500 operating cost, leaving them short £7,500.

Bird called on Edward’s 10,400 followers to donate to the cause and get him “scamping again.”

Bird’s and Huntington’s ploy would otherwise not be unusual—GoFundMe was launched specifically to help people with similar types of personal causes—if it were not for their social status, being that the latter is a top executive at a giant agency network owned by conglomerate Publicis Groupe. As many Twitter critics pointed out, Bird and Huntington certainly don’t seem to need the financial help.

FMD, the absolute nerve of these people, Richard Huntington (@ adliterate) & wife Annabel scrounging vet bill donations on @gofundme! “Our insurance has a limit of £4,000…So, we are left with bills of £7,500 and are asking for help to pay them.” https://t.co/0zbQ0sMAaI https://t.co/c4i5J9hucY

— Lyndsay Farlow (@LyndsayFarlow) January 24, 2018

Another user asked, “The two of you have no shame, do you? … Money enough and yet begging for pocket money?”

The duo live a lavish life in their £1 million flat in Primrose Hill, London, according to the Daily Mail.

Bird owns online London lifestyle store, Bleak House. Huntington was named chairman and chief strategy officer of Saatchi & Saatchi in February 2017, but had been with the agency since 2008, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Huntington graduated from the prestigious University of Cambridge and, according to the Daily Mail, is thought to earn a six-figure salary.

In case you missed it, Wieden + Kennedy parted with partner and chief strategy officer Paul Colman this week. All the major trade pubs ran related stories last night or this morning.

The statement that W+K PR released to confirm the news is a very significant part of this story. We should be very clear that the agency did not discuss the reasons for Colman’s firing—and neither did any individual sources who spoke to us on the record.

“W+K does not tolerate harassment of any kind. If harassment or inappropriate conduct is reported, a timely investigation is conducted, and if a violation is found to have occurred, appropriate corrective action is taken.

We also do not comment on internal matters.”

But what was that comment about, if not internal matters? Compare it to the statement that IPG released after Joe Alexander left:

“In this case, as soon as IPG was made aware of these allegations, we made sure that the right action was taken. We continue to look into the manner in which this situation was handled.”

And this one from AKQA regarding former creative lead Duan Evans last November:

“Duan Evans resigned with immediate effect during a disciplinary process and while he was suspended from the business.”

The one thing these releases have in common is that they are somehow both specific and vague. W+K’s is unique in that it does not reference the individual in question, though it was provided to media outlets as part of a larger comment regarding his departure.

WPP, on the other hand, allowed Gustavo Martinez to release his own direct denial when news of the Erin Johnson lawsuit first broke nearly two years ago:

“I am aware of the allegations made against me by a J. Walter Thompson employee in a suit filed in New York Federal Court. I want to assure our clients and my colleagues that there is absolutely no truth to these outlandish allegations, and I am confident that this will be proven in court.”

The casual observer might conclude that agencies have grown a bit more cautious in the ways they respond to potentially controversial staffing stories. They have also become more direct in describing the policies they follow when addressing alleged HR complaints.

Publicis Groupe has released a very unusual statement today asserting that its financial house is very much in order, no matter what some rogue parties may want to imply.

The brief, cryptic statement went live via international press wires just over an hour ago, and it seems intended to counter an “anonymous letter” about alleged improprieties in the holding group’s finances. Publicis also sent the release out to various media organizations as it went live.

Specifically, the release says the letter, which went out to “auditors and some financial analysts,” accused Publicis of inflating or overvaluing its organic growth for the years 2016 and 2017 by way of “an early application of IFRS 15.”

It goes on to state that the company “formally rejects these allegations,” asserting that the letter’s author “obviously has no knowledge of accounting standards and is proceeding by amalgam, for the sole purpose of creating doubt and disturbing the reality of Publicis Groupe’s figures.”

Earlier in the release, the language describes this letter as a “destablization attempt” by an individual or individuals who will somehow profit or achieve other, unspecified goals by sowing uncertainty among Publicis shareholders.

These actions somewhat resemble those taken by “activist investors” who look to pressure company management.

The release does not clarify how Publicis allegedly used IFRS to overstate its growth. IFRS is a new international standard “providing guidance on accounting for revenue from contracts with customers” that went into effect earlier this month.

The holding company reported modest growth last summer when analysts predicted negative numbers, but its disappointing Q3 results led to a large October stock drop from which it has yet to recover.

A Publicis spokesperson declined to elaborate beyond the release.

Leo Burnett is doing something smart on Instagram. The agency is using the platform to showcase its people in their natural settings. The images, like most photos on Instagram, are not from a formal photo shoot. They’re casual snapshots, supported in some cases by Q+A in the comments. For example, creative director Scott Smith, in […]

The post This Is Brand Storytelling appeared first on Adpulp.

GSD&M was the latest agency to confirm a round of layoffs in the first month of 2018.

“Our people are our most valuable asset, and we are forever grateful for the time they invest in GSD&M’s growth and success. GSD&M, like every agency today, exists in a time of ever-evolving client needs, and it’s critical that we remain nimble,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “In 2018, we are changing our operating rhythm and aligning to a new method of working to ensure we have the right resources to help create ideas that make a difference for our partners.”

Sources claim that the number of employees impacted was under 20, but included a senior vice president and agency veteran. GSD&M declined to elaborate on any details.

GSD&M’s move follows a series of layoffs at TBWAChiatDay New York and across multiple Ogilvy USA offices last week.

TBWAChiatDay New York parted with a number of employees in its creative department today.

The agency claims that under ten employees were impacted.

“Today we parted ways with a few of our creative team members in New York. This is always a difficult decision and it is not taken lightly,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “But it’s important to honestly assess our capabilities and ensure we have the skills in place to be a thriving creative business today and in the future. We are grateful to our former colleagues for their contributions, and where possible are helping those affected to explore other opportunities.”

The staffing reductions follow a series of senior hires at the agency. Chief creative officer Chris Beresford-Hill joined TBWAChiatDay from BBDO in October and John Doris recently arrived as head of integrated production. Back in July the agency welcomed Amie Miller as chief talent officer and Chris Rowson as head of design, group creative director.

Knoxville-based agency The Tombras Group has added four clients that add up to around $20 million in new business.

The new clients are Calypso Lemonade, Tennessee’s Yee-Haw Brewing Company, Ohio healthcare system Mercy Health and optical retailer For Eyes.

“Winning these four marquee brands further validates our philosophy, connecting data and creativity for business results,” The Tombras Group executive vice president Dooley Tombras said in a statement. “This is great momentum for us as we move into our new headquarters next month.”

As a result of the new business, The Tombras Group will add 20 new hires, bringing it up to a total of over 300, up from around 140 in 2015.

You may recall The Tombras Group from this Transformers: The Last Knight tie-in spot for Maaco, which Michael Bay liked enough to direct himself.

This week Chicago-based multimedia agency The Escape Pod announced that it has promoted former brand manager Celia Jones to the role of CEO.

She now reports to Norm Bilow, former DDB agency executive and agency founder who currently serves as managing director of The Escape Pod Group, a network formed just under a year ago when the agency bought a stake in experiential shop OutCold (the group also includes digital agency ORA Interactive, experiential agency OutCold, Gravity Well editorial and creative staffing service GoShortlist.com).

“As soon as Celia joined The Escape Pod, she made an immediate impact on our brand and business. Her insights and diverse expertise, blending corporate strategy, branding, and two decades of experience at both traditional and digital agencies, helped us crystallize our story,” said Bilow, who said the organization occupies “a very advantageous position in the marketplace as a strategic partner to fast-growing challenger brands.”

Before moving to Escape Pod in 2016, Jones worked at a number of Chicago-area agencies including DesignKitchen, Critical Mass, Havas and Rightpoint. According to the release, she has played a crucial role in expanding its digital, social and experiential offerings.

“Both clients and employees are hungry for an alternative. What we stand for as an agency is an escape—from ineffective advertising that fails to stand out, and from the waste, layers and politics of the bigger shops,” Jones said. “I’m excited to shape the future of The Escape Pod—there is no place I’d rather be.”

Last year, the Chicago shop was AdAge’s Midwest Small Agency of the Year. Its current client roster includes KIND Snacks, Toys R Us, Whole Foods and Wheat Thins.