Ad Agency

One of the most significant ad industry events of 2018 to date has been Martin Sorrell’s departure from WPP. That has opened up discussions about what it means for the future of big holding companies and agency models going forward. Not only is there a trend towards “unbundling” agencies from behemoth holding companies, but “the agency model of the future” is a topic of constant speculation. With declining revenues, shrinking margins, and unprecedented competition, it seems a given that the agency holding company model is no longer tenable as-is, and the traditional agency model may not be either.  By Mark Duval / Duval Partnership

In marketing, it’s important to keep pace with demographic change. Even better to stay ahead. Right now, for instance, significant changes in the U.S. cultural landscape have made multicultural marketing imperative.  By Mario X. Carrasco is Co-Founder and Principal of ThinkNow Research

In 2018, it’s a given that agencies must be able to connect their creative excellence to data and technology. Picking up where that post left off, I want to cover the top three things that will hurt your agency’s prospects for new business now. My list includes the top concerns and challenges we see coming up repeatedly for agencies.  By Mark Duval / Duval Partnership
 

Emilio Guede Fernández, a pioneer of advertising film production in Puerto Rico, died in Miami last Saturday, July 28th, at the age 90. He was the founder of Guede Films, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, a company that opened up offices in New York to service the U.S. Hispanic Market and had offices in Guatemala, Colombia and Panama. Guede was a cinematographer who worked as director and photographer on many television spots for many ad agencies in Puerto Rico, Latin America and the United States. A list of his commercials or those produced by his company includes brands such as AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Banco Popular and many others.

d expósito & Partners scored a big win for both the Agency and the Hispanic advertising industry, being recognized as a finalist in the 2018 North American Effies in the Multicultural & Lifestyle Segments category.

Republica announced the promotion of Melissa Richter Bartolini to senior vice president and chief strategy officer.

The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) has updated its media agency contract template for advertisers that includes new provisions and revised definitions intended to increase transparency between clients and agencies.

In its continuing effort to provide the highest level of care and service to the diverse populations, Florida Blue’s internal agency Guidewell Connect has engaged full-service marketing firm Pinta

The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), creator of got milk?, together with lead agency-of-record GALLEGOS United, is launching “You Can Always Count on Milk,” a new $16-million-dollar, statewide advertising initiative. 

I attended the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity for the first time this year (long overdue).  One of the highlights was my participation in a discussion titled “Trust, Transparency and Driving Business Outcomes” with MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar that was led by Jay Sears, MasterCard’s Senoir Vice President Media Solutions.  One of the issues discussed was progress being made improving trust and transparency between marketers and their agencies.  Unfortunately, I feel that’s been a mixed bag. 

Agencies, like brands, need consistency. Agencies used to have access to the C-suite within brands but that’s no longer the case. It’s time for agency leaders to step up and rebuild agency C-suite relevance again.  By Thomas Barta

Risk drives reward.  We’re all familiar with the financial maxim which defines investment return as a function of risk incurred.  Can this construct also better describe how we view marketing investments?  Organizations showing increased expenditure on stock buybacks and dividends relative to growth investments (advertising/marketing and R&D) tend to be more risk averse.

WOW Global Retail (WGR) is a business integration service connecting retailers, brands and distributors through relevant, collaborative, consumer-centric solutions.

Dieste, Inc. announced it is working with PetSmart and will lead social media creative and advertising.

Social marketing has matured to become a robust and integral part of the modern marketing mix. It is table stakes for almost any agency—with or without traditional roots—and is demanded by today’s always-on consumer.

We are good. We are really good, at reading traffic signs. This is not a new skill. The earliest form of road signs were milestones, giving distance or direction. The Romans were known to erect stone columns throughout their entire empire, so you always knew how far you were from Rome. Sadly, our ability to read traffic or road signs quickly fades when dealing with less obvious, but equally critical, signs in our everyday environment. It has never been truer than in the advertising industry, and the critical client/agency relationships that enable great work.

The Miami Super Bowl 2020 Host Committee has selected Miami-based advertising and communications agency Republica as its agency partner.  Republica will provide marketing services to Miami Super Bowl 2020 including branding, advertising and channel strategy.

Casanova//McCann announced today the addition of Jonathan Lackey to its staff in the newly created position of Director of Digital Services.

By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc / LMMiami.com

• Advertising is under fire.
• As a business, as an industry, as a cultural agent.
• Our relevance and our legitimacy as creators and guardians of the canon and its values is called into question literally 24/7.
• In the age of social media, everything we “create” is scrutinized and torn apart ipso facto by some troll with too much time in his or her hands.
• Everything our creatives come up with seems to be tin-eared, flat-footed or offensive in some way or other.
• Fair enough.
• Question is, do we really “create” in the ad business.

After having won the Grand Prix and a Gold Award at the recent 2018 Culture Marketing Conference (CMC) in Los Angeles, last week, a film made possible by AARP about family caregiving among U.S. Hispanics, created by d expósito & Partners, has now won the 2018 Big Apple Award from the Public Relations Society of America.