|
MALONEY & FOX TROT TO OGILVY
Brian Maloney and Margie Fox are leaving their New York firm, which is part of Waggener Edstrom, to join Ogilvy PR as managing directors of its U.S. consumer marketing practice.
Maloney and Fox
|
The Maloney & Fox co-founders will join the WPP unit early next year. Maloney also will assume the New York consumer marketing group chief, while Fox will take on the U.S. consumer practice creative director post.
Since launching M&F in 1997, the duo has counseled LinkedIn, Microsoft, RCA, World Financial Center, Tupperware, Mercedes-Benz and Shutterfly. They report to Mitch Markson, global consumer marketing president & purpose branding chief creative, a recent hire from Edelman.
Ogilvy’s consumer clients include Ford, Mexico Tourism, American Express, Fiji Tourism, Darden Restaurants and Virgin America.
“We are over the moon about this adventure," Fox told O’Dwyer’s. Maloney added: “It is great to be going back to the future with a 3.0 twist! And to finally work with Mitch Markson is a blast.”
FTI DRIVES AMERICAN SUZUKI BANKRUPTCY
FTI Consulting is handling the Chapter 11 filing of American Suzuki Motor Corp., an also-ran in the U.S. automaker market.
Parent company Suzuki Motor Co of Japan has decided to concentrate on the sale of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and outboard motors in the U.S. Its auto focus is now on Japan, China and India.
ASMC offers multiple reasons for its decision to end car sales here. They include low sales volume, a limited number of models, unfavorable foreign exchange rates, costs associated with growing/maintaining an automotive distribution system and the “disproportionally high and increasing costs associated with stringent state and federal regulatory requirements unique to the U.S. market.” It calls the U.S. retreat a “restructuring and realignment.”
The company entered the U.S. market in 1985, and enjoyed its record year of 102K cars sold in 2007. Suzuki sold 26K cars for the fiscal year ended March, and registered a $15.8M net loss.
FTI's Kal Goldberg and Rachel Rosenblatt work the ASMC bankruptcy.
|
|
ST. LOUIS REVAMP SEEKS PR
The redevelopment and investment agency for downtown St. Louis is asking for PR proposals to shape and change perceptions of the area of the city.
The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, which released an RFP for the work this month, is run by board of executives from some of the city’s most prominent corporate residents, including First Bank, US Bancorp, Deloitte & Touche and Wells Fargo. Jim Woodcock, Fleishman-Hillard senior VP, is a board member.
The group is pursuing a strategic plan dubbed Downtown Next 2020 with a series of goals for the city’s downtown area, which since the late 1990s and early 2000s has begun to redevelop from its garment district and factory past. A streetcar line, blues museum, and efforts to lure younger residents are all on the agenda.
Firms were asked to email interest in submitting a proposal by Nov. 9 but proposals are not due until Dec. 21. View the RFP: http://bit.ly/QBfLvA.
LOHAN LANDS AT R&C
Actress Lindsay Lohan, who is trying to revive her career, has hired Rogers & Cowan to handle her PR.
She previously worked with Studio City, Calif.based The Honig Company, the firm of former GolinHarris and GCI Group exec Steve Honig, who dropped Lohan last month after a year. Lohan earlier worked with Leslie Sloan-Zelnick of Ogilvy’s BWR unit.
The actress last week pulled the plug on a sit-down with Barbara Walters on ABC's "20/20" slated to air this week, reported Deadline.com.
Lohan is re-launching her career after legal and reported substance abuse woes with the debut of the Lifetime movie "Liz & Dick" on Nov. 25.
MDC SHAVES DEFICIT
MDC Partners reported a $13.3M third-quarter net loss, an improvement from last year's $17.5M red ink flow. Revenues rose 13.6 percent to the $267.8M mark.
CEO Miles Nadal is pleased with the financial performance, seeing the growth in margins as "proof that our plan to broaden our service offering and to build new platforms that represent the future of the industry is working."
Consumer products generated 32 percent of MDC revenues, followed by retail at 17 percent and communications at 12 percent.
MDC reported a 6.7 percent jump in organic growth and chalked up $23.4M in new business wins during the quarter. Its PR units are Allison+Partners, Kwittken & Co. and Sloane &Co.
|
