Interpublic Announces Organizational Changes within Mediabrands and
Senior Executive Move at McCann Erickson
Matt Freeman Moves to McCann as Global Chief Innovation Officer
NEW YORK, Apr 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) today announced two key strategic moves at its Mediabrands and McCann Erickson units. Effective immediately, Mediabrands will realign its operating units formerly under Mediabrands Ventures to further support its client-centric strategy. In a related development, Matt Freeman will be moving to McCann Erickson in the newly-created post of Vice-Chairman, Global Chief Innovation Officer, reporting to Nick Brien, Chairman and CEO McCann Worldgroup.
"As part of our evolving client-centric strategy, Mediabrands recently announced an innovative move to a new 'cluster' structure," said Matt Seiler, Global CEO of Mediabrands Worldwide. "Today marks the second phase of this process, as we continue to forecast market changes and organize our businesses to help our clients navigate in the dynamic media and marketing environment. Developments at the Lab, TAP and with our increasingly service-oriented approach to global capabilities will make Mediabrands an even better partner to our clients and sister Interpublic agencies and will keep us ahead of the curve in this time of accelerated change."
As part of the refinement of its business structure, the IPG LAB will play an increased significant role at Mediabrands by helping clients vet offerings and tailor services to meet business needs. Mediabrands will also invest in the development of The Audience Platform (TAP), the next stage in the development of the Cadreon advertising exchange, which will further enable its technologies and services to unlock new value across Mediabrands and IPG. Finally, Mediabrands will be organizing its operating units by the benefits each of them deliver. Three different 'benefit bundles' will be based on service commonalities to further support UM and Initiative as they seek to deliver more customized solutions for clients. These moves will essentially tie assets currently under the Mediabrands Ventures umbrella more closely to the core offerings, which will enable Interpublic to redeploy that unit's CEO, Matt Freeman.
"Matt is a marketing visionary. He understands the intersection of media, creativity, and technology whilst anticipating how to harness them to build brands," said Nick Brien. "Matt's digital expertise, strong entrepreneurial spirit and proven business acumen will strengthen McCann Erickson's transformation as the world's leading marketing solutions network. He has strong ties to a number of key members of our new management team and will help us to address a much broader set of business challenges for clients and shape an offering that is fully responsive to the range of opportunities available to marketers in this digital age."
Freeman joined Interpublic in January, 2010, helping to scale the group's media technology offering globally and launching industry-leading new initiatives in areas such as hyperlocal, retail and mobile marketing. Prior to becoming CEO of Mediabrands Ventures, Freeman was CEO of VC-backed digital media startup Betawave and was the founder and CEO of Omnicom Group's Tribal DDB Worldwide, the first digital agency to be awarded Agency Network of the Year by Advertising Age.
Freeman's appointment marks a necessary shift for the McCann Erickson network offering as it establishes itself as the world's leading creative agency network. Freeman's key responsibilities will include harnessing the network's digital offering, building new digital capabilities to meet the evolving needs of clients, and forging partnerships that will enable new revenue streams and exclusive opportunities for McCann Worldgroup clients.
About Interpublic
Interpublic is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include Draftfcb, FutureBrand, GolinHarris International, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, Lowe Worldwide, MAGNAGLOBAL, McCann Erickson, Momentum, MRM Worldwide, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Leading domestic brands include Campbell Ewald; Campbell Mithun; Carmichael Lynch; Deutsch, a Lowe & Partners Company; Hill Holliday; ID Media; Mullen and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.
SOURCE: Interpublic Group
Interpublic Group
Tom Cunningham, 212-704-1326
or
Analysts, Investors:
Jerry Leshne, 212-704-1439