Oh, look! Multiple open positions at Razorfish Health, Publicis Health, and Digitas Health—all within the Publicis Groupe network. The Pfizer fiasco is fueling desperate recruitment of bodies to fill workstations for the White holding company—which boasts a storied history of orchestrating monolithic mismanagement, monstrous mediocrity, and manic mayhem.
Wonder if miraculous Marcel is being utilized as an AI headhunter.
Digiday published an interview with the Digitas North America EVP Head of Client Inclusivity and Impact, whose dreary DE&I drivel demonstrates the utter lack of inclusivity and impact at White advertising agencies.
Digitas heat shields include suggesting that clients toss more crumbs at minority-owned media and fabricating an internal DE&I consultancy comprised of volunteers of color. Additionally, the Digiday content repeatedly noted that the EVP did not offer or disclose details to prove any measurable progress.
Standard gripes highlighted limited funding, dwindling interest, and empty promises from White leaders. Hell, there was even admission that—prior to 2020—Digitas “had nothing” in terms of DE&I efforts. Keep in mind, the EVP was only appointed two months ago.
In short, Digitas dumps a lot of unicorn shit.
‘You have to do a different way of marketing’: How Digitas’ Danisha Lomax challenges the industry’s DE&I efforts
By Kimeko McCoy
Danisha Lomax is asking creative agencies to put their money where their mouths are and maintain the diversity, equity and inclusion momentum that started two years ago. In fact, it’s her job as newly appointed evp, head of client inclusivity and impact at Digitas North America.
The 38-year-old has been at Digitas for almost five years. For the last two of those five years, she’s tasked Digitas and its clients not just with creating a seat at the proverbial table for the marginalized communities they’re trying to market to, but also with making a bigger media investment with BIPOC-owned properties.
So far, she said there’s been an increase in media investment with BIPOC-owned properties, upwards of 40% across Digitas’ clients. (She did not offer further details.)
“We are realizing that [diversity, equity and inclusion] cannot be in a separate bucket. It cannot just sit with HR,” Lomax said, adding that diversity reaches well beyond employee or business resource groups. “You actually do need dollars tied to this to be effective and that’s where the clients come in.”
It’s a conversation she started having with Digitas executives back in 2019, which in 2020 led to the establishment of the Multicultural Center of Excellence, otherwise known as McCoe or the agency’s internal DE&I consultancy. Lomax describes it as a “small and nimble team” of about 25 or so volunteers (depending on the project and volunteer availability) that work across Digitas’ media, strategy, billings and operations teams.
“We understand the business need. When we do put on our Multicultural Center of Excellence hat, we can effectively have conversations because we know where the business is going,” she said.
Simply put, instead of one seat at one table, it’s many seats at many tables to ensure inclusivity during each step of the marketing process, reminding clients how to identify and classify communities as well as create long term relationships with them.
Prior to Lomax’s arrival, Digitas’ inclusivity strategy was on an as-needed basis, meaning that it was prioritized when the client asked for it, instead of being an integral part of the agency’s work, said Lisa Torres, president of multicultural practice at Publicis Media, the agency’s holding company.
“She was extremely intelligent, curious, open and wanted to find ways to be more inclusive,” Torres said. “Digitas at the time had nothing.”
That’s not to say the agency was intentionally non-inclusive. Lomax herself said a lot of the groundwork for the McCoe was laid in Digitas’ employee and business resource groups. From an employee retention perspective, it worked. But like so many other agencies prior to 2020, there was no dedicated, client-facing DE&I practice. It was prioritized only when the client asked about it, per Torres. It took some convincing of higher ups, but the summer of 2020’s push to inclusivity lended their efforts some momentum.
“The last two years have changed the trajectory of cultural marketing for everyone,” Torres said. “It became more on the front-end than the back-end, less bolted on more integrated to the business at hand.”
Some of the biggest work to come out of Lomax’s efforts was Sephora’s Beauty of Blackness campaign and documentary. Even before partnering with Digitas’ McCoe, diversity was already an initiative at the beauty brand as it was one of the first major companies to commit to the 15 Percent Pledge, in which 15% of its inventory would be dedicated to products from Black-owned businesses. Partnering with Digitas and the McCoe practice only strengthened those efforts and showcased its evolution toward becoming a home to more inclusive, clean products.
“Danisha was one of the voices who helped us understand how important this brand is to the Black community, to Black culture and to the beauty industry overall, and brainstorm with us how he could tell that story in a way that was totally new and different,” said Abigail Jacobs, svp of brand and integrated marketing at Sephora.
Across the advertising industry, the need for inclusivity went from a conversational talking point to a business priority in 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for social justice. Agencies, brands and corporations alike denounced racial bias, promising to do better by investing ad dollars in Black media, hiring people of color and creating more inclusive campaigns.
“Today, agencies are establishing internal multicultural creative advisory groups that address and provide assurance of inclusivity within the work,” Tahlisha Williams, evp of talent, equity and learning solutions at the 4A’s, said in an emailed statement to Digiday. For example, some of those efforts include incorporating DE&I leadership into briefings and creative reviews, designing and implementing a culturally specific assessment tool, launching framework for DE&I expectations or establishing internal multicultural creative advisory groups, like how Digitas has done with the McCoe.
The challenge however, Williams added, is maintaining said groups without over-indexing individuals from certain demographic communities due to the lack of representation within an agency. “This has led agencies to seeing the impact of the lack of representation which further highlights talent diversity concerns,” she added.
Unfortunately, the industry’s good hasn’t been good enough with some agencies releasing updates to their diversity data with mediocre results. Black creatives have said progress in the industry is stalling and conversations around DE&I are fizzling out, per previous Digiday reporting.
“At that point, you have to figure out a different way of doing marketing,” Torres said, speaking on the industry’s current efforts. “That’s what people like myself and Danisha come in and say, ‘This is what you need. This is a business imperative for you. But it’s also a business imperative you have to do the right way, and in a respectful way.”
It’s one of the challenges Lomax said her and her team will continue to face going forward, constantly reminding clients of their commitments. “That repetition is still a little bit of a challenge: Reminding teams that briefs need to come in and that don’t just say general market,” she said. “Some of those challenges, just because of the nature of the industry, they’re so baked in, are things that we’re still working through today.”
That being said, there’s still a lot of work to be done. But Lomax is hopeful with plans already in place for 2023. (She did not disclose further details.) As a mom of two, she has to be hopeful, she said.
“I really want them to be able to live in a future that looks different,” she said. “I want them to see their mom helping reimagine the future.”
AgencySpy posted about Digitas promoting a staffer of color to a new role—Head of Client Inclusivity and Impact for North America. Of course they did. The position was hatched to engage with clients to produce more inclusive work, as well as “further establish Digitas as a leader in the DE&I and CSR space.” Um, it’s easy to anoint oneself as a leader in that space—after all, in Adland, the area is currently uninhabited.
Digitas Elevates Danisha Lomax to Head of Client Inclusivity and Impact for North America
By Kyle O'Brien
Digitas has promoted Danisha Lomax to head of client inclusivity and impact, North America, a new role at the agency aimed to further establish Digitas as a leader in the DEI and CSR space. Lomax is tasked with engaging clients to create more inclusive work for their consumers.
Lomax has been elevated from head of media (west) and national paid social lead for the agency, though she will retain those roles in addition to her new title. In those roles she oversaw go-to-market strategy, planning and execution for Digitas’ enterprise, beauty and subscription-based entertainment clients. As the National paid social lead, she provided thought leadership to grow clients’ business and their use cases for social.
Prior to joining Digitas, Lomax held positions at Wells Fargo, eDriving and AKQA.
Lomax leads the multicultural center of excellence, a Digitas collective focused on bringing equity to the agency’s work. She is frequent industry speaker and thought leader, speaking on topics ranging from client DEI goals, how brands can engage with Pride Month year round, pausing media during times of political unrest and Juneteenth issues. She recently spearheaded a Digitas campaign called Release the Time, a forum for Digitas talent to share stories about how they combat burnout and develop a healthier relationship to PTO.
In her new position, Lomax will partner with client and capability leaders to influence and accelerate inclusion in client work across marketing, content, creative, media and measurement, helping to develop an approach for strategically engaging with clients.
“This announcement further solidifies our commitment to guide our clients to create more inclusive work,” said Jodi Robinson, CEO, Digitas North America in a statement.
Lomax will continue to report to Megan Jones, evp/head of media, NA.
“Danisha will leverage our foundational industry presence to bolster our brand in these vital conversations, made evident already in Sephora’s ‘The Beauty of Blackness,’ Meta’s We Create program, the 2022 DigitasNewFront hosted by Danisha, and much more,” said Robinson. “We’re so excited for Danisha to step into this role and further establish Digitas as a leader in the DE&I and CSR space.”
Digitas in the UK invented the Anon CV tool, intended to address discrimination in the hiring practice. Investigations—and common knowledge—shows job candidates face biased responses from prospective employers who will reject them based on race, ethnicity, gender, age and other demographic details gleaned via identifying CV content.
The device strips away the revealing data, attempting to make hiring managers focus on applicants’ skills, experience and qualifications for roles.
Sorry, but there’s something inherently prejudiced about the Digitas doodad.
After all, in these times where everyone is encouraged to bring their authentic selves to work, why should anyone have to conceal their true persona? And if an employer is inclined to engage in unfair hiring practices at the CV review stage, will they act differently upon ultimately meeting a candidate?
The dimwits at Digitas ought to create a tool to identify the racist assholes who deny diversity with discriminatory hiring practices. Or simply identify the majority of UK perpetrators by clicking on this link.
Here’s an indication of how bizarre the job market in the U.S. advertising industry has become. Digitas is seeking a freelance VP project manager—to work for its office in India. Hey, why not? With Zoom, it’s possible to operate in a different country and time zone as a VP-level hired gun, managing projects on a project basis. And take social distancing to the extreme too.
According to the self-hype, “The Fishbowl Good List Celebrates Agency Professionals For Their Goodness.” The “good” White advertising agencies include Publicis Sapient, VMLY&R, Wunderman Thompson, FCB and Digitas. As the old line goes, “Good is the enemy of great.” And Fishbowl should change its name to toilet bowl.
This LinkedIn help wanted ad from DigitasLBi appears to be seeking an art director—but the place should poach a copywriter and proofreader too.
Campaign reported on a new campaign via a headline that read, “Kellogg’s hails Britain’s diversity by asking: How do you eat your cornies?” Created by Leo Burnett and DigitasLBi, the messages present the popular hypocritical twist on diversity from White advertising agencies. That is, shops that have deliberately defied diversity for decades in their own offices feel completely comfortable depicting a diverse variety of characters in advertising. Kellogg’s hails Britain’s diversity—and fails Britain’s diversity by partnering with exclusively White advertising agencies.
Kellogg’s hails Britain’s diversity by asking: How do you eat your cornies?
By Simon Gwynn
The brand returns to UK airwaves for the first time in five years with a campaign that aims to start a national debate.
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes is returning to TV tomorrow for the first time in five years in a campaign that celebrates the myriad bizarre ways in which people like to eat the cereal.
The $12.4 million campaign, developed by Kellogg’s in collaboration with agencies Leo Burnett and DigitasLBi, aims to create a national debate using the hashtag #myperfectbowl.
A series of TV ads features real people from around the UK talking about their preferred serves—which include niche styles such as topping them with peanut butter, apple juice or water.
The brand said that the campaign comes from the insight that while Corn Flakes is seen by a large number of consumers as a “much loved” product, there is little consensus on how they should be enjoyed.
Gareth Maguire, marketing director for Kellogg UK & Ireland, said: “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes is the iconic cereal brand; everyone has a perfect way to enjoy their Corn Flakes and that’s what we’re tapping into with this campaign.
“We’ve seen a change in what people eat for breakfast but cereal remains the number one choice in the UK. And we know from our research that Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are the nation’s most loved cereal brand. So with this campaign we hope to further strengthen this relationship between consumers and our brands.
“After a long break, it’s time for us to start talking about Corn Flakes again and there’s no better way of doing this than through the words of our loyal fans.”
Sales of Corn Flakes have fallen for each of the last four years and in the year to October 2016, they were down more than 10 percent in value to $58.7 million (Nielsen). UK sales of all breakfast cereals fell last year by $96.4 milion (5.5 percent) to $1.66 billion.
Corn Flakes is the UK’s sixth best selling cereal brand, after Weetabix, Quaker, and three other Kellogg’s brands—Crunchy Nut, Special K and Coco Pops.
Advertising Age reported Sprint finally and officially awarded its creative business to White advertising agency Deutsch LA. Figliulo & Partners, the latest White advertising agency to lose the account, will apparently remain on the roster for the beleaguered telecom. Go figure. Team Sprint is technically still alive as well, with Leo Burnett handling retail duties and DigitasLBi covering digital. Um, has there ever been a bigger collection of losers in a client’s stable?
“We went through an intense selection process and we are confident in the capabilities of our new partner,” gushed Sprint CMO Jeff Hallock. “They are a major asset to add to our agency roster.” Hallock, of course, is not a major asset at Sprint, given his departure will happen the second a replacement is identified. Additionally, is Deutsch LA really a major asset—or a major asswipe? The culturally clueless and digitally delinquent shop was preceded by Figliulo & Partners, Leo Burnett, DigitasLBi, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, TBWA\Chiat\Day and Publicis Hal Riney. It looks like Deutsch LA is on the descending end of a death-spiraling degradation of talent and creativity.
Sprint Names Deutsch Los Angeles New Agency of Record
Shop Will Handle Strategy, Creative
By Maureen Morrison
Sprint has finally confirmed that Interpublic’s Deutsch L.A. is its new creative agency of record.
The marketer in recent weeks had been reluctant to confirm that the shop won its business, following a review that began at the end of the summer, saying its new ads from Deutsch L.A. were only project work.
Deutsch L.A. will now officially handle creative and strategy for the telecom. Figliulo & Partners had been handling that work ever since it took it over from Leo Burnett in November 2013. A Figliulo & Partners executive did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Figliulo & Partners will remain on the roster, said Tracy Palmer, director of brand and advertising, Sprint. She declined to elaborate.
Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett continues to handle retail for Sprint and sibling shop DigitasLBi continues to handle digital. Mercer Island Consulting handled the review.
“We went through an intense selection process and we are confident in the capabilities of our new partner,” CMO Jeff Hallock said in a statement to Ad Age. “They are a major asset to add to our agency roster.”
Sprint said last month that Mr. Hallock will depart at the end of the first quarter next year unless the marketer finds a successor sooner.
“We are thrilled to take on this business in a completely integrated way,” Deutsch L.A. CEO Michael Sheldon said in a statement. “Sprint is eager to do the type of bold and disruptive creative work that we do best and we look forward to the massive opportunity ahead.”
Sprint sent out a request for proposals on Aug. 29, only weeks after Marcelo Claure became CEO of the company. Under Mr. Claure, the company has introduced a series of aggressive new plans and price cuts. In its third-quarter earnings call in early November, Mr. Claure detailed “the new Sprint”—one that centers on a revamped marketing agenda. Sprint last week said it will terminate its sponsorship of Nascar after the 2016 season, citing a need to focus on its core business priorities. The partnership dates back to 2004.
But one of Mr. Claure’s first acts was to pull the “Framily Plan” pitch, which Figliulo & Partners had marketed with its “Frobinsons” campaign starring a cast of oddball characters.
The win is another big coup for Deutsch this year. This summer, it picked up the Pizza Hut business from McGarryBowen without a review, and more recently added digital duties to its Taco Bell business. With Sprint on the client list now, Deutsch said it will hire as many as 120 additional people. The shop will also open what it calls a fully functioning broadcast production company to serve Sprint.
Sprint currently commands 15% of the U.S. market, trailing Verizon (33%) and AT&T (28%), according to comScore. Yet amid a network overhaul, Sprint is bleeding customers—it lost 714,000 “postpaid” subscribers over the past year. It’s also confronting a credible challenge from T-Mobile, which added 2.3 million customers during the third quarter.
Sprint, the 23rd largest advertiser in the U.S., spent $1.56 billion in U.S. advertising in 2013, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter. That figure includes measured and unmeasured media. According to Kantar Media, Sprint spent $943.3 million in 2013 on U.S. measured media, which includes spot TV, syndicated TV, cable and other ad venues.
Contributing: Malika Toure, Mark Bergen
Advertising Age reported Pizza Hut handed its creative digital duties to Deutsch LA. Hey, why not? The client already demonstrated questionable intelligence by approving Deutsch LA’s lame and stereotypical campaign featuring old Italians hating new menu items. So go ahead and assign the digital work to an agency that recently received a spanking from the FTC for deceptive online messaging. Incumbent Digitas will apparently stay on the roster to cover digital media buying and planning, which could be a precaution for policing Deutsch. Then again, it actually means there will now be two White agencies actively inflating YouTube views, faking Facebook likes, tweeting Twitter raves, loading up LinkedIn love, etc.
Deutsch Los Angeles Picks Up Digital Duties on Taco Bell
Incumbent Digitas Will Stay on Roster for Digital Media Buying and Planning
By Maureen Morrison
Deutsch Los Angeles, the lead creative agency on Taco bell, is adding digital to its duties.
Publicis Groupe’s Digitas in San Francisco had been handling digital for the chain, and just recently helped launch its mobile-ordering and payment app in late October. Deutsch handled the TV creative, but the biggest splash of that campaign was Taco Bell’s blackout of all its social media for a couple of days to draw attention to the announcement. Digitas also created the design of the app, on which it will continue to work.
Digitas will also continue to handle digital media planning and buying. Its sibling agency Spark handles media planning, and WPP’s MEC handles buying.
A spokesman for Taco Bell confirmed the change but declined to elaborate.
Digitas, which won the chain’s digital business in 2012, said in a statement that it was proud of its Taco Bell work and looked forward to doing more. “While we are disappointed by this decision especially on the heels of the transformative mobile ordering launch (which DigitasLBi had a heavy hand—and heart—in creating), we move forward with pride in our people, and conviction for our work,” the agency said. “We continue to be a valued partner for (and value our partnership with) Taco Bell, as we continue our work across digital media, mobile/app, CRM, loyalty, among others.”
Deutsch called Taco Bell a digital marketing leader. The agency has been working on some digital business for the last year and a half, but that now the shop will handle social, digital and platform work, according to Winston Binch, chief digital officer at Deutsch L.A. “We’re most successful when we’re deep in the business,” he said. “Given we’re deeply involved with the Taco Bell brand, having our digital and social team in there now will lead to really great things.”
The move is Deutsch’s latest pickup from Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. This summer, the agency picked up the Pizza Hut creative account from McGarryBowen without a review. Pizza Hut’s digital account remained with MRY.
Deutsch had also been taking more and more Taco Bell creative work from FCB in the last couple years, to the point that it became the lead agency on the account, though FCB still handles aspects like merchandising. Deutsch L.A. earlier this year led marketing for Taco Bell’s breakfast menu introduction, the chain’s biggest rollout in its history. The shop had picked up increasing digital work from Taco Bell as well.
Deutsch has been putting significant effort into building its digital offering in recent years. Mr. Binch, a former CP&B exec, joined Deutsch in April 2011 and has since grown its digital group to include some 200 employees, according to a person familiar with the agency.
Taco Bell spent about $327.5 million on U.S. measured media in 2013, according to Kantar Media. It’s by far the biggest spender of the Yum brands, with KFC second at $284 million and Pizza Hut third at $247 million.
Adweek reported Sprint is seeking a new creative agency. Why bother? Over the years, Sprint has hired some of the top shops—as well as some of the bottom (e.g., Leo Burnett, Digitas and the incumbent shithole)—and always failed to move the sales needle. Innovative advertising is not the answer for the bombing brand.
In January, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was quoted as saying, “At one recent meeting, I learned that our advertising at Sprint was not cost-effective. This made me quite angry. Sprint spends a large amount of money on advertising every year, but its effects have been almost negligible. … I directed the Sprint executives to terminate all existing contracts with the company’s advertising agencies. We will shortly start from scratch on advertising, with new agents also making proposals.” Okay, but it looks like Son forced the birth of the Frobinson framily, so his creative judgment is questionable at best—and shitty at least.
Given the international diversity at Sprint—from the Midwestern troops to the Bolivian Sprint CEO to the Japanese SoftBank CEO—perhaps it’s time to look beyond the U.S. White agencies. Then again, a galaxy-wide search would probably not identify candidates qualified to resuscitate Sprint.
Sprint Looks for New Creative Lead Agency
Search said to focus on TV work
By Noreen O’Leary
Sprint is looking for a new creative lead agency, sources said. The review is said to be focused on above-the line marketing, much of which is spent on TV. The telecommunications company spends about $800 million annually on measured media but it could not be determined how much of that amount is invested in television advertising.
In late 2011, the Overland Park, Kansas company unexpectedly shifted its account from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to “Team Sprint,” a unit comprised of Publicis Groupe agencies and led by DigitasLBi. While the Publicis digital shop initially worked with corporate sibling Leo Burnett, which produced Sprint TV commercials, more recently the marketer has moved that assignment to start-up Figliulo & Partners to handle TV spots. (ARC/Leo Burnett continues to handle Sprint’s shopper marketing.)
It’s not clear if the current search also includes digital work handled by DigitasLBi.
The agency search is not entirely a surprise given critical comments the CEO of Sprint’s new parent Softbank made at the beginning of this year: Writing in a January guest column for Nikkei Asian Review, Masayoshi Son said “At one recent meeting, I learned that our advertising at Sprint was not cost-effective. This made me quite angry. Sprint spends a large amount of money on advertising every year, but its effects have been almost negligible.” The executive continued: “I directed the Sprint executives to terminate all existing contracts with the company’s advertising agencies. We will shortly start from scratch on advertising, with new agents also making proposals.”
DigitasLBi and Figliulo, started last fall by former TBWA\Chiat\Day N.Y. chief creative officer Mark Figliulo, could not be reached for comment. A Burnett rep declined to comment, referring calls to Sprint execs who did not respond to an inquiry.
The Sprint Framily underscores why the telecommunications company is in big trouble. And the Grandpa character embodies the cultural cluelessness of Sprint and its agencies. When was the last time this brand presented decent—or even mediocre—advertising? In 2012, MultiCultClassics predicted the failure of Team Sprint—and the Leo Burnett-Digitas coalition did not disappoint on the forecast. Yet the new shop’s Sprint Framily campaign is arguably worse than the shit shat out by all predecessors. It almost makes a person wish for the return of Dan Hesse.
Advertising Age published a fluff piece on the super cool ways that agencies recruit interns. For example, Digitas asks candidates, “If you were a mobile app, which would you be and why?” Actually, only a mobile ass would want to work for Digitas, even for just the summer. More disturbing is the photo (see above) featuring interns from Leo Burnett. It’s a little difficult to say with certainty, but the group appears to lack diversity. Then again, Leo Burnett lacks diversity too. The Ad Age story essentially states that agencies reel in young workers from a static and familiar pool of sources, which is basically how veterans are selected as well. And it’s a safe bet that the static and familiar pool of sources is supplemented with nepotism and cronyism; i.e., the children of agency leaders and clients receive preferential hiring privileges. Meanwhile, HR wonks and Chief Diversity Officers half-heartedly scout minorities from inner-city high schools and preschools.
MediaPost reported Sprint is launching a review of its entire agency roster, which likely means the official demise of Team Sprint—and thankfully, the James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell team. Wonder how the impending Publicis Omnicom Groupe merger would have affected matters, given that AT&T is firmly tied to Omnicom’s BBDO. Of course, the assholes behind the inane hook-up will probably walk away scot-free while scores of adpeople lose their jobs.
Sprint Launching Comprehensive Agency Review
By Steve McClellan
Telecom company Sprint is preparing to conduct a comprehensive review of its agency roster, according to the CEO of its parent company, Softbank. The review is expected to cover creative, media and digital.
The company spends close to $1 billion on ads annually.
The review comes about six months after Sprint was acquired by Softbank for nearly $22 billion. Shortly after that, Sprint CMO Bill Malloy indicated that he would leave the company in the spring of this year.
It was just over two years ago that Malloy — who had then recently joined the company — fired lead agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the Omnicom shop, without a review and put in place an entity called Team Sprint that was led by Publicis Groupe’s Digitas (now DigitasLBi). Sibling shop Leo Burnett was tapped for creative duties and media shifted from WPP’s Mindshare to Publicis Groupe as well.
But according to the Chairman and CEO of Sprint parent Softbank, Masayoshi Son, Team Sprint hasn’t been getting the job done. He said last week that “Sprint spends a large amount of money on advertising every year, but its effects have been almost negligible.”
Son’s comments came in a guest column for the Nikkei Asian Review. “I directed the Sprint executives to terminate all existing contracts with the company's advertising agencies. We will shortly start from scratch on advertising, with new agents also making proposals.”
The article was more broadly focused on lessons in business leadership that Son had learned over the years. He said he had erred previously in allowing the U.S. management of some acquired companies too much leeway to run companies as they saw fit.
“Just like Vodafone in Japan, Sprint has gotten used to being a loser,” Son wrote. “It is perpetually stuck in third or fourth place in the U.S. telecommunications market. Some say the poor quality of its networks explains its position. This kind of excuse keeps Sprint from breaking the vicious cycle in which it is caught. There is a need for a change in mindset.”
That point of view could also potentially affect the agency roster at competitor T-Mobile. Softbank has approached T-Mobile about a possible $20 billion acquisition. Publicis & Riney is T-Mobile’s creative agency.
A DigitasLBi rep didn’t immediately respond to a query about the review. A Sprint rep indicated that the company has not begun a review “at this time.” He declined to elaborate or comment on Son’s remarks.
This story has been updated to include input from a Sprint rep.
Advertising Age reported Sprint cut Leo Burnett from the starting lineup on the team—Team Sprint, that is. James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell should call the agency and dramatically announce, “You suck.” Leo Burnett will continue to handle below-the-line assignments with Digitas, the alleged leader on Team Sprint, which should now be renamed B-Team Sprint. Hell, given that Sprint lost $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter, the Publicis-owned shops don’t even deserve to play on the practice squad. How the creative TV portion of the account went to a startup is a mystery. A comment at AgencySpy indicates the new agency may have the financial backing of Publicis Groupe—which sounds like the kind of Corporate Cultural Collusion that merger partner Omnicom has mastered over the years.
Sprint Taps Figliulo & Partners for TV Creative
Leo Burnett No Longer Handles Broadcast, Remains On Roster
By Maureen Morrison
Sprint has signed on Figiulo & Partners, Ad Age has learned.
It’s believed that Mark Figiulo’s shop will take on Leo Burnett’s above-the-line work, which consisted primarily of TV. Burnett will remain on the roster for below-the-line work such as retail.
Burnett has been the telecom’s lead creative agency since late 2011, after then-new Chief Marketing Officer Bill Malloy joined the company. He swiftly dispatched longtime agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and appointed a Publicis Groupe team known as Team Sprint to direct the carrier’s $1.4 billion in U.S. ad spending.
Although Burnett was the creative agency, the account was led by sibling agency Digitas, which will remain on the business. Publicis’ MediaVest, which handles media, will also stay on.
Figliulo & Partners was formed after Mr. Figliulo, a former TBWA/Chiat/Day creative director, left Chiat in July.
The move also comes a few months after Sprint announced that Mr. Malloy will be leaving the company in 2014. A replacement has yet to be named.
Sprint and Leo Burnett did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Figliulo & Partners could not be immediately reached.
Sprint is the 24th-largest ad spender in the U.S., according to Ad Age DataCenter. It spent a total of $1.4 billion in the U.S. on marketing, $810 million of which was for measured media, according to Kantar Media. Its biggest budget medium-wise is for Network TV, with $318 million spent in 2012.
The Associated Press reported Sprint lost $1.3 billion in its fourth quarter. Gee, the stellar work of Team Sprint isn’t stopping the financial bleeding?
Sprint lost $1.3B in fourth quarter
From ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sprint Nextel Corp., the country’s third largest wireless carrier, on Thursday said it lost $1.3 billion in its fourth quarter, about the same as a year ago, as it revamped its network for a comeback versus bigger competitors.
The company’s focus, and that of its investors, is on its long-term turnaround efforts rather than on short-term results. Sprint is selling 70 percent of itself to Japanese carrier Softbank Corp. for $20 billion. That deal is expected to close this summer, and provide long-ailing Sprint with a much-needed infusion of capital.
With Softbank’s backing, Sprint has struck a deal to buy out the other shareholders of Clearwire Corp., which operates a wireless data network. That should give Sprint more space on the airwaves and allow it to offer high broadband speeds.
The Overland Park, Kan., company lost 44 cents per share in the October to December period versus 43 cents per share in the previous year.
The loss was slightly smaller than analysts had predicted. The average Wall Street forecast as polled by FactSet was 46 cents per share.
Revenue was $9 billion, up 3.2 percent from $8.7 billion a year ago as customers converted from regular phones to higher-paying smartphones. It was slightly above analyst expectations at $8.9 billion.
Sprint activated 2.2 million iPhones in the quarter, a record for the company, reached with the help of the new iPhone 5. The figure is far below those posted by bigger competitors AT&T and Verizon Wireless, but helps Sprint keep subscribers. It still lost a net 243,000 customers on contract-based plans in the quarter, as subscribers kept streaming off the Nextel network, which Sprint is shutting down.
Network chief Steve Elfman said the upgrade of the company’s cell towers is on schedule despite the ravages of Superstorm Sandy. The company has lit up “LTE” antennas, which provide higher data speeds, in 58 cities and plans to light up another 170 in coming months. Verizon Wireless and AT&T got started on LTE earlier and have bigger networks up and running.
Sprint shares slipped 7 cents to $5.70 in afternoon trading. The previously volatile shares have been trading in a relatively narrow band between $5.40 and $6 since the Softbank deal was announced in October. The price reflects what Softbank is set to pay.
At Business Insider, Jim Edwards further investigated the mess involving a Kellogg’s CRM project at Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide. A bunch of employees from the agencies resigned en masse, threatening to take the project with them. The eight rogue workers are now facing a lawsuit, the agencies look bad and the client has yet to make a public statement.
Can’t help but think the scenario underscores the fallacy of integrated marketing as presented by holding companies—and holds implications for the continued failure of implementing diversity initiatives too.
Despite the hype by networks offering a variety of services seamlessly across multiple units, true and effective collaboration is still a pipe dream. In the past year, Leo Burnett has absolutely demonstrated the sad reality. The place has unintentionally created solid case studies for dismantling the system.
For example, Digitas apparently won the Sprint account last December, leading a mythical “Team Sprint” with Leo Burnett on the roster. Yet it seems as if Burnett has seized control of the branding—producing painfully awful TV commercials—while the digital and direct portions sputter aimlessly. The sole bright note has been the elimination of spots featuring CEO Dan Hesse. This is not integrated marketing. It’s old-fashioned, dysfunctional corporate politics.
The Kellogg drama stars Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide, a partnership of traditional advertising and below-the-line disciplines (although rumor has it that in the Chicago market, Arc’s bottom line is well above Burnett’s). According to Edwards’ probing, the defecting executives included SVP Kristy Gibbs, who allegedly is the only person who understands the Kellogg CRM database. Really? A $710 million account serviced by global agencies had just a single human being capable of overseeing a project? That’s not a very deep bench. Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide obviously lack the resources and expertise to handle Kellogg’s broad needs. Hell, it’s likely that Burnett was too occupied churning out Allstate Mayhem commercials to notice what was happening with Kellogg. The agencies deserve to lose the project—and possibly the total business.
The illusion of integrated marketing goes beyond Leo Burnett and its mates. The same bullshit occurs with virtually every holding company coalition. And in most instances, the traditional advertising agency is the root cause of the problems, as these shops tend to believe integration starts with traditional advertising. This might work in an ideal universe, except the “big ideas” generated by traditional advertising agencies rarely consider the other disciplines, as these shops remain clueless about anything that is not traditional advertising. On the flip side, the non-traditional advertising agencies remain clueless about traditional advertising. Need proof? Find any commercial from Digitas or Razorfish that doesn’t thoroughly suck.
The dilemma extends to the simple fact that traditional advertising agencies, digital agencies, direct marketing agencies, promotional agencies, public relations agencies, etc. are each operating distinct business models. Clients even pay the different disciplines differently. Ever see a traditional advertising guy effectively run a digital agency, or a digital guy effectively run a traditional advertising agency? When the separate shops try to unify, the result is a contemporary Tower of Babel, where everyone is speaking their own language and no one can understand or translate the objectives and directions. Need more proof? Consider Draftfcb, Enfatico or the soon-to-crash Commonwealth. Hell, toss in Cavalry too.
So how does it all apply to diversity? Well, if adpeople have difficulty learning to coexist when there are actual professional motivations and benefits, it’s hard to imagine integration could succeed on a cultural level. As the above scenarios show, White folks can’t even stand dealing with White folks.
Crain’s Chicago Business named “Chicago’s Largest Digital Agencies”—and the list included some dubious selections. Forbes named “Chicago’s Top 100 Digital Companies”—and only two of Crain’s top ten picks (Epsilon and Digitas) made the cut. The eight others failed to even appear among Forbes’ 100 leaders at all. Imagine that.
New York Times Advertising Columnist Stuart Elliott spotlighted the latest happenings at R/GA, where two new offerings are launching: 1) consulting services designed to rival Accenture and McKinsey & Company, and; 2) product innovation services to compete against the Ideos and Frog Designs of the world. R/GA Chairman and CEO Bob Greenberg declared, “I really wanted to create a new agency model.” Oh, really? When considering things like Digitas claiming to be the lead AOR on Sprint, Droga5 thinking it can produce Kraft branding campaigns, Razorfish shitting out wannabe viral videos for All detergent, or DigitalKitchen simply executing a lame self-promo, it seems to be the old agency model for digital shops to overpromise capabilities where none exist and push into areas where they have no business being.
Adweek interviewed Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle at Cannes. The adwoman made a few curious comments worth criticizing. First, she gushed about meeting a telecom executive from Hong Kong who inspired her to think about “What we’ll do with Sprint when we get back to the States.” Um, didn’t Digitas win the AOR role on Sprint? Guess it’s now official who’s really running Team Sprint. Maybe the Cannes cultural encounter will lead to a commercial featuring a stereotypical boss with a heavy Chinese accent—“Ling! Ling! Herro! This is Splint!” Credle also displayed cluelessness about mobile communications, which clearly shows she’s the perfect person to oversee a brand like Sprint…? Finally, the CCO marveled at the growing interest in below-the-line disciplines. Yo, somebody tell the woman that the Chicago headquarters of Leo Burnett is actually billing less than sister enterprise Arc Worldwide.
