Hasta La Creative!

Today we hear from multiple sources that staffing cuts occurred this week at Detroit’s Lowe Campbell Ewald.

The last few months have witnessed several big changes for the agency: in September, news broke that Hill Holliday had lost the Cadillac account, that IPG would be folding its Rogue unit, and that LCE would handle creative for the client moving forward. After that shakeup, Managing Director Kevin Wertz assumed the role of president reporting to CEO Jim Palmer in a move that also saw the departure of longtime COO Kathleen Donald and the promotion of several other executives.

The client, however, surprised many in the industry one month ago, confirming rumors that it had been “quietly talking to other agencies“ by choosing Publicis Worldwide as its AOR.

Lowe Campbell Ewald has not responded to multiple requests for comment, but more than one source lists the total number of employees who are no longer with the agency as of this afternoon at 30; another source claims that this group includes Group Digital Creative Director Iain Lanivich of 2013?s “We’re moving to Detroit and so should you” video. Since the agency employs approximately 500, these numbers would amount to less than ten percent of its total workforce.

Updates as we receive them.

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Well, we guess this is notable enough to merit a separate non-Stir post. So yeah, as you may have read this morning, there’s a changing of the guard at IPG-owned Detroit stalwart Campbell Ewald, which has not only welcomed a new CEO, but has joined the global Lowe network. As a result, the new entity will now be known as, yes, Lowe Campbell Ewald and will be led by Jim Palmer, who has been with CE for over 20 years and most recently served as its vice chairman/chief client officer.

As you can gather, Palmer (pictured) is taking over for 31-year Campbell Ewald vet Bill Ludwig, who we’ve been hearing for weeks was no longer with the agency, which was repeatedly telling us otherwise. Along with Palmer assuming the top post, CE president Kathleen Donald will take on the role of chief operating officer and add more management responsibilities. Regarding Ludwig’s departure, IPG chairman/CEO Michael Roth says in a statement, “Bill Ludwig is leaving the agency poised for growth. We wish him well and thank him for his many contributions to the agency over a 31-year career, including putting in place a new generation of management that understands contemporary integrated marketing and the digital landscape.” According to the CE camp, Ludwig could still work in some capacity with IPG.

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