Ad Agency

A lot has been written about last week’s announcement that the Association of National Advertisers has instructed Ebiquity and K2 Intelligence to investigate if agencies are really as devious as some say they are.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History added campaign materials and personal artifacts related to Hispanic advertising agencies and their founders through a collaboration with the AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing. AHAA is supporting the museum’s initiative to expand on the advertising collections held in its Archives Center with a financial donation and with introductions to agency leaders and firms who had a significant impact on advertising history.

The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) has selected K2 Intelligence, an assessment, compliance, and cyber-defense services firm, and Ebiquity/FirmDecisions, a marketing-performance optimization company, to lead discovery and fact-finding efforts into media transparency issues, including rebates. Among other key priorities is demystifying the landscape, which is critical to developing longer-term transparent business practices.

In her new position, Dicker will leverage her vast experience in digital and social to deliver compelling and innovative brand engagement solutions across multiple platforms.

San Antonio based Interlex is launching a new division specifically dedicated to promoting better health through evidence-based strategies, program development and implementation, and culturally relevant awareness and behavior change campaigns.

Uber chose Newlink Communications to work collaboratively in its communication strategy for the Latin America region.

Kunachia named Newlink America its agency of record as it launched its new product, Chia+Probiotics, in Sam’s Club locations across the US.

Much talk has surfaced lately about the whether it makes sense to have a total market strategy. Some contend that the intent of a “total market” strategy, which is to recognize target consumers’ needs, culture and behavioral characteristics in the formulation of a company’s marketing strategy is more often misunderstood or not understood at all. This has resulted in “total market” strategies which homogenize how organizations communicate with consumers and which under emphasize and even ignore cultural nuances that work to powerfully connect consumers and brands.  By Terry Soto is President and CEO of About Marketing Solutions, Inc.

Sir Martin Sorrell has a strong point of view on the names of things. Here he is on linking his own company with the term “advertising”: “We need to rename it because it encourages people to think that creativity is the preserve or reserve of that creative department, of that creative director in that so-called ad agency,” said the WPP Group chief executive at an Advertising Week event.

A few lucky brands and agencies own a place in popular culture forever because of their ability to find that one big idea. But that era is gone and the effort to get it back creates frustration between clients and agencies.

As managing director, strategy/creative, Velez will oversee the operations and staff of the Miami office while generating and nurturing new business leads and converting qualified leads to client partner relationships.

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. and Grupo Gallegos announced the launch of a new advertising campaign that will specifically target US Hispanic consumers, titled “Destino,” which is Spanish for both destination and destiny.

Bestowed by the Government of Mexico to a leader outside of said country, the Ohtli celebrates the recipient’s commitment to lifting the Mexican or Latino community, along with their vision and impact.

República unveiled “Stand Stronger,” Citizenship Awareness Campaign, a comprehensive campaign designed to encourage the 8.8 million eligible lawful permanent residents to apply for and obtain U.S. citizenship.

Advertising is inherently a creative process, and creativity is often associated with a free-form approach to the development of ideas and concepts. The implementation of those ideas, however, should not be free form. In fact, research shows that ad campaigns benefit greatly when marketers use a tightly controlled implementation process to help them maximize results and minimize waste.

Industry insiders have stated that Manuel E. Machado, CEO and co-founder of MGSCOMM is no longer involved in the day-to-day of Common Ground / MGS.

Grupo Gallegos has named agency veteran Brenda Aguilar Schneider as Management Supervisor for JCPenney and other clients.

Michael Farmer, who has been consulting for advertising agencies for 25 years, sees the industry trapped between “fee-cutting clients and profit-hungry owners.” Its woeful state, he believes, can only be reversed by intrepid agency CEOs overturning the current agency culture by tracking workloads to better negotiate fees, repositioning their raison d’être from “big ideas” to “results,” and instilling a strong sense of accountability throughout their organizations.

Independent boutique agency, LatinSphere, headquartered in Long Beach, CA, will officially close at the end of August 2015 after 14 years of providing advertising and experiential marketing services, focused on, but not limited to, the Hispanic market.

Horizon Media announced the launch of a second stand-alone media agency network, Canvas Worldwide. The new media agency network, a joint venture between Horizon Media and global creative powerhouse INNOCEAN Worldwide, will officially launch in September 2015.