Hasta La Creative!

Zimmerman Advertising of Fort Lauderdale hired Bryan Sweeney as its new executive vice president of integrated content production. He is the first person to hold that title.

Sweeney joins Zimmerman following nearly fourteen years with Boston-based agency Hill Holliday. Most recently, he served as executive vice president, director of creative production, beginning at the start of 2013, overseeing content production, broadcast, digital and print. Before that he spent nearly ten years as senior vice president, director of broadcast and around a year and a half as senior vice president, co-director of integrated production. Sweeney joined Hill Holliday in December of 2002, following over two years as vice president, executive producer group head at Arnold Worldwide in Boston. Prior to that he spent ten years as vice president, executive producer at DDB Chicago. Over the course of his career he has worked with clients including McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch, MLB, Bank of America and Cadillac.

“Bryan brings with him a strong creative pedigree, but even more importantly, he brings big ambition, big innovation and an unrestrained passion for innovating across multiple platforms, something so critical to keep up with the dynamic retail marketplace our clients must thrive in,” Zimmerman Advertising CEO Michael Goldberg said in a statement. “Bryan’s remit will be to leverage his experience creating a connective production tissue between video, audio, UX, social and digital content, along with the alignment of the agency’s state-of-the-art production studio.”

“He fits in the organization today, but will also be a driving force to getting to tomorrow quickly. He is a rare breed that understands that it is a collision of analytics and creation that must drive results,” added Zimmerman Advertising chairman and founder Jordan Zimmerman. “He is the kind of person that makes all the ideas and people around him better and we are so glad he is joining our team.”

Chuck E. Cheese has named Ft. Lauderdale-based agency Zimmerman Advertising as its lead agency, AdAge reports. The appointment concludes a review launched in April and conducted without a consultant. Zimmerman takes over for The Richards Group, which won creative and media duties for the brand back in 2012, and will be responsible for integrated creative, media, strategy and promotion. The brand spent approximately $28 million on measured media in 2014, according to Kantar Media.

Chuck E. Cheese has undergone significant changes recently, including new menu items, in an attempt to appeal more to adults and boost declining sales. According to research and consulting firm Technomic, the brand’s revenue fell from $428 million in 2009 to $365 million last year. The brand will keep its “Where a kid can be a kid” tagline but will continue its efforts to appeal more to parents.

“We have always been a restaurant focused on kids, but now we are also looking to improve the experience for parents,” Chuck E. Cheese chief marketing officer Michael Hartman told AdAge. “We need an agency able to keep up with our breakneck pace and hunger for consumer insight…we found Zimmerman shares our vision for success and obsession with metrics. They are the right agency at the right time to help us ring in a new era.”

Jamba Juice also named Zimmerman as its integrated agency partner, tasked with handling brand strategy, media, creative, social and analytic duties for the California-based chain. The brand had previously worked with specialists but made the decision to go with Zimmerman as its integrated agency of record. Jamba Juice chief marketing and innovation officer Julie S. Washington cited “Zimmerman’s retail experience, strategy and analytics, creative strength and focus on results” as the impetus for the selection. According to Zimmerman CEO Michael Goldberg, Jamba Juice stopped its review mid-process to commit to the agency.

For Zimmerman, the two account wins are the latest in a string of new business since the arrival of Goldberg last September from Deutsch. The agency has picked up ten new accounts since his arrival, and nine in 2015.

As in earlier campaigns for PepsiMax and Chevy before them, Zimmerman’s latest for Nissan sends unsuspecting test drivers on a racetrack in a campaign to promote the latest Altima model.

The Fort Lauderdale-based, Omnicom-owned agency (along with prod co Humble) has launched yet another iteration of its #RideOfYourLife campaign for the automaker with the two-minute clip above. Of course the campaign also includes interactive components, Spanish ads, and more clips that will run through May.

This latest version–which improves on last year’s–includes a Smart Glass Box that you can view in the clip. In a statement regarding the campaign, which was filmed at the Santa Anita Westfield Mall in Southern California, Nissan North America VP of of marketing communications and media Jeremy Tucker says:

“Consumer response to last year’s campaign was so strong, we just had to play it again, even bigger and better. You can see the excitement on the participants’ faces when the Altima is revealed at the mall, and especially after their track ride-and-drive experience – reinforcing our belief that Altima is no ordinary mid-size sedan.”

Can you really, though?

Zimmerman of Fort Lauderdale made industry headlines back in the summer of 2013 by poaching the chief marketer of now-former client Papa John’s (which went to Grey in February) to serve as its new president.

Now we hear, from multiple sources, that Andrew Varga no longer holds that position.

This latest executive shift should not come as a surprise: the agency’s CFO, VP and CEO all departed in recent months, and in September former Deutsch partner/CMO Michael Goldberg filled the chief executive position vacated by Pat Patregnani (who assumed the role at the same time Zimmerman hired Varga).

We’ve been unable to contact Varga and the agency has not offered a comment, but we do have what we consider to be definitive proof: he does not currently appear on the agency’s “people” page.

A source close to the shop tell us that Varga recently went on a “medical leave” and never came back. Based on multiple conversations with such sources in the past, we can surmise that this sort of unannounced departure is standard practice within the organization.

UPDATE: Varga’s departure was part of Golberg’s internal reshuffling; he promoted several staffers but didn’t make any new hires. EVP/MD David Kissell replaces Varga.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Fort Lauderdale-based Zimmerman has announced the hiring of Michael Goldberg as its new CEO, filling a position left vacant with the departure of Pat Patregnani several months ago., AdAge reports.

Goldberg arrives at Zimmerman from Deutsch, where he was a partner and chief marketing officer. The move marks a homecoming for Goldberg, who served as Zimmerman’s chief marketing officer for over eight years following Zimmerman absorbing fellow For Lauderdale agency Harris Drury Cohen in 2003. Goldberg was serving as Harris Drury Cohen’s CEO at the time of the acquisition. He eventually left to join Omnicom PR agency Porter Novelli as a senior partner and global chief marketing officer in 2012, before jumping to Deutsch later that year. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

More than a month ago, AdWeek brought you news that national plush couch chain Ashley Furniture had launched a creative review.

Today we heard a couple of things from our sources about that review:

• Ft. Lauderdale’s Zimmerman, which served as the company’s AOR since 2009, is out

At least two parties remain standing:

• Atlanta-based 22squared
• Doner of Detroit

Since this isn’t a small account (Ashley is offering more than $50 million in yearly media spending), we expect to hear more on the review soon.

For context, in 2012 the chain chose Ryan Partnership as AOR for the launch of its spinoff chain, literally named “ZZZ’s by Ashley.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Advertising Agency: Zimmerman
EVP/CCO: Scott Thaler
VP/Group Account Director: Tisha Costales
EVP/CMO: Michael Goldberg
Sr. VP/ECD: David Nathanson
CD: Jordan Lipton
Copywriter: Andrew Goldstein
Producer: Lana Pennino

Prod Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Brett Morgen
EP/Head of Commercials: Dave Morrison
Head of Production: Sue Ellen Clair
Producer: Skot Bradford

Editorial: Chemistry
Editor: Peter Mostert
Producer: Sue Whlader

Advertising Agency: Zimmerman
EVP/CCO: Scott Thaler
VP/Group Account Director: Tisha Costales
EVP/CMO: Michael Goldberg
Sr. VP/ECD: David Nathanson
CD: Jordan Lipton
Copywriter: Andrew Goldstein
Producer: Lana Pennino

Prod Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Brett Morgen
EP/Head of Commercials: Dave Morrison
Head of Production: Sue Ellen Clair
Producer: Skot Bradford

Editorial: Chemistry
Editor: Peter Mostert
Producer: Sue Whlader