Ad Agency

I have had the good fortune to work with both the marketing as well as the procurement disciplines in various roles, and to have been involved in some of the shaping of the two disciplines as a whole through work I have done with the World Federation of Advertisers. What all this has told me, unsurprisingly, is that there are good and bad decision-makers — and you will find them in marketing procurement teams as well as marketing departments.

For years the balance of workload versus scope of work has plagued digital agency teams. The strain is compounded as agencies invest in new skills to support client business in a marketplace where publishers’ inventory and technology are restructuring for self-service.

More than two-thirds of procurement and financial professionals say PepsiCo’s decision to eliminate its marketing procurement department will not become an industry trend, according to a survey of members conducted by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers).

the community, part of SapientNitro, announced the appointment of Tyler Witkin as a Senior Strategic Planner. In this newly created position, Witkin will be charged with integrating consumer insights and research into the agency’s brand stories.

República has been named ”Best Marketing/PR Firm Using Tech Innovation and Social Media to Reach Latinos” by LATISM (Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media).

BMW of North America, LLC. announced that The Community has been named U.S. Hispanic agency of record for the company.

We all know the story well: Our landscape has evolved from setting established objectives focused on moving the transactional needle to moving our audiences’ emotional and behavioral needles to stay visible amongst the clutter.

Sobieski Vodka distributed in the USA by Imperial Brands, has moved its account to Coconut Grove, FL based MARCA.

Based in Miami, Bermudez will be charged with growing and managing communications solutions for some of the community’s largest clients.

República announced that it has received Corporate Plus designation from the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)

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.