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Tag: IPG

  • IPG sells remaining shares in Facebook

    MUMBAI: The Interpublic Group (IPG) has sold its remaining shares in Facebook Inc. for net cash proceeds of $95 million and expects to record a pre-tax gain of $94 million.

    Interpublic chairman and CEO Michael I. Roth said, “The value of the investment we made in Facebook in 2006 has increased significantly during the last six years. We decided to sell our remaining shares in Facebook as our investment was no longer strategic in nature. Simultaneously, our board has authorized an increase in our share repurchase program of $100 million. We view this as another opportunity to enhance shareholder value reflecting the confidence we have in our company.”

    The global media communications network entered a strategic partnership with the social media networking website in 2006. As part of the agreement, Interpublic was to participate in marketing programs on the website, including online advertising and promotions, as well as pilot programs involving sponsorships, consumer research and content creation on behalf of its clients. Interpublic has also agreed to acquire less than one-half of one per cent of Facebook.

    Interpublic announced that its Board of Directors has authorised an increase in its existing share repurchase program from $300 million to $400 million. As of September 30, $151 million had been used under the authorisation. The share repurchase program has no expiration date.

  • IPG shuffles McCann Worldgroup senior team

    MUMBAI: The Interpublic Group has elevated Harris Diamond from his position as chairman and CEO of IPG’s Constituency Management Group (CMG) to the same role at McCann Worldgroup, replacing Nick Brien.

    Also, Luca Lindner and Gustavo Martinez have been given broader mandates within the company with significant geographic responsibilities and full oversight of McCann Erickson Advertising. The trio of Lindner, Martinez and Diamond will occupy a newly-created, three-person office of the Chairman for McCann Worldgroup.

    In his new regional role, Lindner will also take charge of Middle East and Africa apart from the Americas while Martinez will add Asia Pacific responsibilities to his current title of president, Europe for McCann Worldgroup. As Diamond takes on his new position, the marketing services agencies that make up the Constituency Management Group will report directly into Interpublic management.

    Interpublic chairman and CEO Michael I Roth said, “Harris understands the business needs of global CEOs, across a range of industries. He has a proven track record of effectively managing a portfolio of agencies and growing the top line. He has created a strong culture of collaboration, which is increasingly key in a marketing landscape that requires integration of services. And he brings a deep knowledge of McCann in light of the alignment between Worldgroup and a number of the agencies within CMG, such as Weber Shandwick and FutureBrand. In Luca and Gustavo, we are fortunate to have two outstanding, seasoned practitioners with a deep understanding of the advertising industry and McCann’s fundamental strengths. Over the past year, as co-Presidents of Global Clients for Worldgroup, they have played increasingly key roles in strengthening the agency’s relationships with major clients. Their continuing leadership and complementary skill set will be key to McCann’s future success. We thank Nick for his commitment and for driving change at McCann during his tenure.”

  • McCann makes senior level appointments at Bengaluru and Mumbai

    MUMBAI: IPG owned advertising agency McCann Erickson has made appointments at leadership positions in it Bengaluru and Mumbai offices.

    Vijay Jacob Parakkal has been roped in as McCann Bangalore general manager. Namrata Nandan who has spent three years heading the Bengaluru office which has key businesses like Britannia, ITC and TVS motors has been re-located to Mumbai and will now oversee the McCann Mumbai branch.

    Parakkal comes with an experience of close to two decades across India and Srilanka and in companies like Eveready, Bazee.com and Grey. He has worked on brands such as ITC, Bharti AXA, Sify, Ashok Leyland and UB Group.

    Anil Thomas is to continue as creative chief for McCann‘s entire South Operations.

    McCann Erickson executive chairman and CEO Prasoon Joshi said, “McCann has always embraced change and have welcomed new blood in the system. At the same time we take pride in providing exposure and opportunities for growth to our long time colleagues. Vijay and Namrata‘s new roles bear testimony to this philosophy and practice. I am positive that both our offices will further shine bright.”

  • Draftfcb walks away with Jabong.com’s creative biz

    MUMBAI: Online retailer Jabong.com has awarded its creative mandate to IPG’s Draftfcb Ulka, following a multi-agency pitch that saw participation from five agencies.

    The media mandate of the e-commerce site was recently won by Publicis‘ ZenithOptimedia.

    Draftfcb Ulka will be handling the overall offline creative services for Jabong.com including brand planning and creative developments.

    Draftfcb’s approach to the brief ‘Harnessing the spirit of Shopaholism’ won it the account. The agency will have the tough task of coming out with clutter-breaking campaigns in a commoditised e-commerce space.

  • IPG’s BPN drives away with John Deere media biz

    MUMBAI: John Deere, manufacturer of agricultural tractor, has given its media planning and buying mandate to IPG Mediabrands‘ Brand Programming Network (BPN).

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, BPN India CEO informed, “The agency will handle the company‘s entire product portfolio and in fact work on the project has already begun. The ad spends on the account are in the range of Rs 150 million.”

    The brand‘s creative mandate is handled by Lowe Lintas, also an IPG agency.

    Located near Pune, John Deere India is a subsidiary of Deere & Company, USA. It manufactures 5000 Series agricultural tractors.
    The parent company was founded in 1837 and provides advanced products and services in the areas of agriculture, forestry, construction, lawn and turf care, landscaping and irrigation.

  • IPG’s BPN wins Dr Reddy’s media biz

    MUMBAI: Dr Reddy‘s has awarded media duties of its OTC (over the counter) business to IPG‘s recently launched agency Brand Programming Network (BPN).

    The account was won on the back of multi-agency pitch in which Starcom MediaVest Group had also participated.

    The incumbent agency on the account was Prachar.

    The account size of the business is estimated to be around Rs 200 million.

    BPN India CEO Suresh Balakrishna said, “We are really excited to have won this account. It is a great start for BPN. In countries like the US, 30 per cent of advertising is on medical products.Pharmaceutical in India is going to grow in next few years.”

    The creative agency on the account is Mudra Health.

    BPN was launched last month in India and operates under the Lintas Media Group (LMG) umbrella. It focuses on promoting brand health and success in this social and consumer driven media landscape.

    The agency also handles Henkel in Mumbai, Yepme.com in Delhi, OCL in Kolkata, and Jayalakshmi Silks accounts in Cochin.

  • IPG launches third media agency network BPN in India

    MUMBAI: IPG Mediabrands has launched its third media agency network in India, in line with its strategy of operating across 14 countries.

    Titled Brand Programming Network (BPN), it will be under the Lintas Media Group (LMG) umbrella.

    Ending months of speculation on what Suresh Balakrishnan‘s designation will be at LMG, the agency has named him as the CEO of BPN.

    The other two media agencies of IPG Mediabrands in India are Lodestar UM and Lintas Initiative.

    BPN will operate in 14 countries around the world, including North America, Scandinavia, Latin America and Europe. It has a start up billing of over $900 million, the agency said.

    The new agency will be focusing on promoting brand health and success in this social and consumer driven media landscape. It will handle clients like Jyothy-Henkel, Bajaj Auto, Samsonite, and other clients of LMG to start up with a billing volume of over Rs 10 billion in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Cochin.

    Lintas Media Group chairman and CEO Lynn de Souza said, “For media agencies thus far, the starting point has always been the advertiser. Consolidation, portfolio management and aggregation are all client focused and to some extent consumer data driven. BPN will focus on the brand. The time has come to turn back several chapters and make the brand the hero of all communication effort, and BPN has developed processes to do just that.”

    The agency is already pitching for large MNC brands and has recently acquired Henkel in Mumbai, Yepme.com in Delhi, OCL in Kolkata, and Jayalakshmi Silks accounts in Cochin.

    Balakrishna said, “The team and I are very excited to be energizing an all new way of approaching media, yet using the best of data, insights and creativity that LMG and IPG Mediabrands have globally and here in India. BPN will focus on promoting brand programming using social media as a key source of information to reach consumer at every touch point. We will work closely with Reprise Media, the digital offer, and Lintas Initiative Outdoor to offer brands complete media solutions. This agency will be characterised by its agility, creativity and understanding of new avenues like the digital medium, branded content, mobile telephony, apart from the conviction to be able to deliver the best media product through astute planning and aggressive buying.”

  • IPG, Omnicom in JV for $1 bn Chevy account

    IPG, Omnicom in JV for $1 bn Chevy account

    MUMBAI: In a first of its kind move, global giants Omnicom and Interpublic Group have entered a 50:50 joint venture to service the global creative account of General Motors‘ brand Chevy.

    The JV, Commonwealth, will be led by a global advisory board of eight members including McCann Worldgroup South Asia president Prasoon Joshi.

    The collaboration is between Omnicom owned Goodby Silverstein & Partners, which was previously Chevy‘s lead agency in the US and IPG’s McCann Erickson, the brand‘s lead agency in India, China and Latin America will be called Commonwealth.

    The size of the account serviced by the JV is $1 billion. Prior to this Chevrolet employed 70 agencies across the globe.

    The account was awarded to the two agencies after a multiagency pitch that started at the end of 2011. The other agencies involved in the pitch include Publicis Groupe and Cheil Worldwide.

    The new business which will be based in Detroit, will develop creative campaigns across all media platforms for Chevrolet.

    Earlier this year GM awarded the global media mandate to Aegis‘ Carat Media.

    The global advisory board will oversee creative initiatives and strategy. Goodby Silverstein & Partners founder Jeff Goodby will serve as creative chairman while other members will include McCann Worldgroup Latin America chairman and chief creative officer Washington Olivetto and McCann New York and London chairman and chief creative officer Linus Karlsson.

     These four creative leaders will work in collaboration on all major creative initiatives and resource allocations. Campaigns will be handled through global hubs, which will operate in Detroit, Milan, Mumbai and Sao Paulo.

    According to the company‘s annual report GM spent $4.47 billion on advertising in 2011 most of which was used to market Chevy. The company said that cutting back on the number of agencies, and streamlining ad production and its media buying process could save the company $2 billion over the next five years.

  • ‘The only thing that supercedes creativity is accountability’ : Laurence Boschetto – DraftFCB president & COO

    ‘The only thing that supercedes creativity is accountability’ : Laurence Boschetto – DraftFCB president & COO

    It was in June that media conglomerate Interpublic combined its Draft and Foote Cone & Belding (FCB) units around the world to create a channel-neutral agency model DraftFCB. Heading DraftFCB as its president-COO is Laurence Boschetto, previously president-COO of Draft.

     

    Hardly has Boschetto had time to gather his breath on the ramifications of the new entity has come an even more radical announcement. Which is that Interpublic is reorganizing its media operations with Initiative becoming aligned within DraftFCB and Universal McCann coming under McCann Worldgroup.

     

    The reorganisation came just ahead of news that the newly integrated DraftFCB has been awarded the account of retail behemoth Walmart worth an estimated $570 million. That the monster win came on top of new business that DraftFCB had won from Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Atari has been more than a validation for Boschetto and the team at DraftFCB.

     

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com, Boschetto, who over the last three weeks “has been on the road to every single region introducing them to the new model”, throws some light on just what’s happening at DraftFCB, as too the vision thing with IPG.

     

    Excerpts:

    Is it fair to say that IPG’s reorganization of its media operations represents the most significant example of support for those against the unbundling of media that we have witnessed over the last 20 years or so? And extending that posit, can we then argue that making media and creative interdependent is the best way forward?

    Over the last decade we stripped everything out of an agency, we have taken strategic planning, we stripped away media and now they have basically become interchangeable parts, the ‘value has been devalued.’ So what we are doing right now is we look at the client, we look at the demands and pressures that they have, we look at the environment that their end user works in and we say ‘how do we change the game.’

     

    This might look like the old model but it’s packaged in the new model formulation, an offering of complete integration of products and services but not doing it syllogistically under the model.

     

    What we are saying is that there is one management team, there’s one P&L and the palette consists of all the different skill sets, so the clients don’t have to manage all those relationships and the agency can come back with a business solution orientation based on the real business issues rather than the disciplines that they are confident in.

     

    Today we often hear clients say, ‘I want channel agnosticism and discipline neutrality.’ Yet there isn’t really any channel agnosticism. We didn’t build organizations in the industry that way, we have people that are proficient in strategic planning, in branding, in advertising, in PR and in retail. Now they are asking for renaissance marketing communications people, that’s what this whole model is about, it’s about building another class of business builders in the marketing communication field.

    The new media strategy represents the third major organizational change Interpublic has instituted this year. What is the broad direction that IPG is taking with all this?

    When you take a look at the advertising industry, you cannot ignore client structuring and their constituent parts because this tends to have a ‘domino effect’. The environment that the customer lives in has radically changed, technology has changed they way that they live and breathe, how they interact and connect with each other, this has created one basic phenomena ‘immediacy’.

     

    Technology has changed the way we work and engage. This has put tremendous pressure on the CMOs, as they also live in an environment and at a time when their CEOs are demanding performance in their books. It is estimated that every CMO has a life expectancy of roughly 24 months. However, if they have to produce they will have to figure out how to navigate through a company, what the alliances are, who their end user is and quarter after quarter their performance based on real business metrics will determine what their life expectancy will be.
    ‘Over the last decade we stripped everything out of an agency, we have taken strategic planning, we stripped away media and now they have basically become interchangeable parts, the ‘value has been devalued’ ‘

    If you say that a CMO has an average 24 month life cycle, what happens if he continues to deliver what the client demands?

    As defined, stage I is to develop a way of operating to deliver that media and channel neutrality and agnosticism and that’s by bringing together not just one person to lead the business but all the discipline leaders at a round table, to form a team for the client.

    Now, if one client is more strategic in nature then they may have a strategic person in the key position, while someone else who is more data driven might have the data person heading it, but the way we think through the issues are holistic. The goal is that over time we are not expecting that someone who is highly proficient in strategic planning and database modeling to be interchangeable. But the person who heads up strategy must be able to think more holistically, so that when they come to a business situation they determine what’s right for the client.

    But will these individuals continue to function within their respective units?

    The goal is to make sure that the purity and the authority of every discipline still resides in an agency so that we never lose that foothold. In the process of giving clients that ‘channel agnosticism’, the days of only the account person holding that relationship, we are saying that before we get there we need to have a team consisting of media, strategic planning, account services and a creative database all sitting at the table and having an equal voice in determining how to solve a business issue.