Hasta La Creative!

When employees at Rooster aren’t skateboarding, it turns out that their hipster lifestyle dives into the banal. Sometimes, they just like to stand around the water cooler and talk. Judging by the latest clip of self-promotion, they talk about typical things, like Game of Thrones and podcasts. Co-founder Gavin McInness, however, is old and obsolete when it comes to water cooler talk. My advice: either watch Game of Thrones or don’t bring it up. And, this may be more important, take care of business before getting a prostate exam.

You’ll get the references if you watch the clip, which is basically an amateur attempt at awkward situational comedy. There are a few funny moments and a few moments when you can hear crickets. Not much more to say, other than podcap.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We arrived this morning to a flood of tips regarding the state of Translation, mainly that the NYC-based agency cut several staffers last week. While many of those on the Spy line were spouting numbers including “38,” we heard directly a short while ago from Translation founder/CEO Steve Stoute, who clarifies that he had to actually let go of 17 people across departments last Friday.

From what the exec tells us, it had nothing to do with specific client issues (and yes, we are looking into the one many of you mentioned), but that “when you grow to where we grew, [there are staffers] who are not culturally fit, are overpaid or are not qualified.” Stoute adds, “I have to keep the talent at my company at the same level as the opportunities that come our way.” We’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Following its recent preferred ad position deal with Starcom MediaVest in April, Twitter has signed a deal with WPP. The deal will enable WPP and it operating units — GroupM, Kantar, Wunderman and others — to access Twitter’s treasure trove of data and incorporate it into WPP media and analytics platforms.

Of the deal, WPP CEO Martin Sorrell said, “Twitter’s relevance continues to grow – not only as a social platform, but also as a window into consumer attitudes and behaviour in real time. We are delighted to announce this very wide-ranging strategic partnership and to ensure that Twitter data is a key ingredient in many of our disciplines. We look forward to leveraging the platform in a variety of ways for our clients around the world.”

The deal fuels Twitter move into the Big Data space and its deepening marriage with the marketing and advertising community.

Well, there are more changes on the MRM front to be had according to those in the know. Less than a week after undergoing various leadership shifts, including Bill Kolb‘s promotion as well as an alignment and changing of the guard in its West Coast operations, we’ve received confirmation from sources familiar with the matter confirm that Mark Singer and MRM have parted ways. Singer (pictured), who originally joined MRM in December 2008 as SVP/account director on the U.S. Army account, eventually moved up the ladder to serve as EVP/general manager at the agency’s New York hub.

From what we’ve been told by our sources, MRM worldwide president Michael McLaren will absorb Singer’s responsibilities for the time being, but there will be an eventual replacement for the latter exec (no timetable set yet, though). Prior to McCann/MRM, Singer spent nearly two years as SVP/senior partner at Ogilvy on American Express. Update: Sources add that Singer left June 3 after a long transition period” to go back into management consulting as a partner at Deloitte, where he had a previous five-year run as senior manager.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I don’t get Vine. I don’t get the appeal of six seconds worth of jump cuts and amateur shaky cam, when our mobile photography capabilities are so advanced. But, if Vine has any redeeming qualities, it’s unusual format does open the door for creative contests. Well, maybe more curious than creative, since how much can you really say with poor quality videos in six seconds? Nonetheless, MRM Worldwide just held its 2nd annual “I am MRM” contest where agency employees under 28 could produce a meaningful Vine and win a trip to Cannes.

The finalists, including winner Anna Chechetka, did get quite creative, incorporating text, art, sound effects, and stop-motion. You can watch all of the finalists’ videos here. My personal favorite, complete with fire-breathing dragon, comes from Yi Xiu Lim. It turns out that Chechetka, meanwhile, learned she had won in a personal call from MRM CEO, Bill Kolb. Before getting on the phone, Kolb — who was recently promoted to chairman/CEO of McCann Worldgroup’s GM account — looked at his secretary and in a grumbly old-man voice said, “What is this silly Vine business?” That last part is probably not true; I just made it up to project my Vine feelings on to someone else.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

It’s fairly evident there’s a tectonic shift going on in the workplace today. From telecommuting to collaboration to cloud-based workflows, everything is changing. So what’s a marketer supposed to do in the face of all this change?

Thankfully, there are experts on this topic who can help guide you and your company through these changes. In this Central Desktop eBook, to which I contributed, you will learn how these changes are affecting marketing organizations, why the remote workplace is growing in importance, how telecommuting can actually give your company a competitive edge, how agencies and marketers are reinventing their creative teams to meet these changes and why collaboration is becoming an integral component of successful companies.

Download the eBook now and stay ahead of the curve.

We’ve been hearing about this since late March, actually. But yes, though it took a while to clarify/confirm as we’ve been told that the ink took longer than usual to dry, Omnicom-owned, Minneapolis-based agency Martin|Williams has finally, officially been named agency of record for Scottsdale, AZ-based P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and its spinoff Pei Wei Asian Diner chain.

Regarding her company’s decision, P.F. Chang’s chief brand officer, Julie Elkinton, says,  “We interviewed a range of agencies across the United States and found that the team at Martin|Williams was the perfect combination of strategic thought and creative that we needed to capitalize on exciting opportunities for our two culinary brands. Their passion for our uniquely positioned restaurants was evident through the work they presented and we cannot wait to see it come to life over the next few months.”

We’re checking to see who else participated in the pitch, but in the meantime, we’ll tell you that Martin|Williams succeeds fellow Twin Cities operation, Olson, on the P.F./Pei Wei biz. Olson previously handled both advertising and PR for both brands, but as a result of the client’s decision, the duties have been split, with M|W taking on advertising and Karwoski & Courage taking over PR duties.

Update: Sources tell us that M|W beat out three other agencies in the P.F./Pei Wei pitch including Acquity Group and TM Advertising. The third agency has yet to be determined.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Los Angeles outpost of agency/content studio KesselsKramer, which opened up shop in Chinatown last year, is part of the creative team behind “Mythical Creatures,” a new documentary about artist Gary Baseman uncovering the story of how his parents survived the Holocaust in Ukraine. The film’s mixture of art and history also benefits from a score by South African duo, Die Antwoord.

The press release characterizes the project as “a whimsical story of survival and hope.” Using whimsical to describe a Holocaust story can be cringe-inducing, but after watching Baseman discuss his familial roots in his art studio, the description seems to make sense. Baseman’s artistic style has been described as “adorably perverse” by the Los Angeles Times, and that sort of imaginative approach to a story about Holocaust survivors could help the movie stand out creatively.

David Charles, ECD/partner at KK Los Angeles who wrote and directed the film tells us that his shop hopes to release the film in October, and to secure more funding. And not to worry, KK LA plan to start a second wave of Kickstarter donations later in a couple of days (we’ll update with link).

Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

It looks like it’s still in its nascent phase, but multiple sources are telling us that Saints New York is the new shop that’s been formed by Syrup founder/executive creative director Jakob Daschek and its former CEO/managing director,  Omino Gardezi. If you recall, the pair essentially served as the leadership team at the LBi-owned Syrup, but parted ways (or vice versa) shortly after Publicis Groupe acquired LBi last fall. Thus far, it appears that a fair amount of the work featured on the Saints site harks back to Daschek and Gardezi’s Syrup/LBi, but as mentioned, the Saints operation is a newly formed one. We’re checking in with at least one of the two involved, so we’ll let you know and get some clarification on staff count/current client roster if and when we can. Check out the Saints’ MO below:

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

JWT was thrown under a bus this week by Halls, which Mondelez International (formerly known as Kraft Foods) counts as one of its “power brands,” thanks to a 24.7% share in the medicated confectionery category globally.

According to Ad Age, Mondelez shifted its global Halls creative business to Wieden & Kennedy, abruptly ending its four decade-long relationship with JWT.

For reference, here’s a Halls’ TV spot from JWT’s reel:

“A pep talk in every drop,” is a good line. It may even be a great line. But we all know it takes more than a great line to sustain a client’s interest, trust and business, day-to-day, much less decade-to-decade.

Ad Age also notes that earlier this year, W&K was handed Trident’s U.S. business just 18 months after Saatchi & Saatchi had won it. W&K also has the marketer’s Stride gum brand. Halls, Trident and Stride are similar, reasons Ad Age, because they are typically sold at the front of stores and rely on impulse purchases.

One thing is for sure, W&K isn’t shy about going after packaged goods brands these days. Given how shoddy much of the work in the CPG category has been over the years, I’d say this is a positive development, creatively speaking.

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