News From the Advertising Industry

Accounts

â–  Guaranteed Rate, Chicago, a residential mortgage company, named Olson, Minneapolis, its first agency of record. Billings were not disclosed.

■ Subway Restaurants, Milford, Conn., chose 360i, New York, part of Dentsu, as its social media agency of record. Billings were not disclosed. The assignment previously was handled by the Zócalo Group, Chicago, part of the Ketchum division of the Omnicom Group.

â–  Air Canada named JWT Canada, Toronto, part of the JWT unit of WPP, its creative advertising agency of record. Spending was estimated at $2.6 million. The assignment was handled for the last 27 years by Marketel, Montreal. The media planning and buying part of the account will be handled by a JWT Canada sibling, Mindshare Canada, part of the Mindshare unit of GroupM, also owned by WPP.

■ Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Philadelphia, selected Glu, New York, as advertising agency of record. The organization previously worked with the Advertising Council and Publicis Modem, part of the Publicis Groupe, for a national public service campaign in 2011 that carried the theme “Start something.” Glu plans to work with consumer brands to create paid cause-marketing ads for the organization in traditional and digital media.

People

â–  Andy Brown, chairman at Kantar Media, London, part of the Kantar division of WPP, is adding the post of chief executive, assuming those duties from Jean-Michel Portier, who retired this year.

â–  Kerry Keenan joined Deutsch New York as partner and chief creative officer, succeeding Greg DiNoto, who is leaving, the agency said. Ms. Keenan most recently ran, with Nathy Aviram, a company, Half Irish, that specializes in branded content; before that, she was global executive creative director at Y&R, as well as executive producer and principal at Y&R Entertainment, both units of the Young & Rubicam Group division of WPP. Deutsch New York is part of the Deutsch division of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

â–  Jason Prohaska joined Your Majesty New York, part of Your Majesty, as chief executive, a new post. He had been general manager and managing director at Big Spaceship, Brooklyn.

â–  Richard Kosinski joined Unruly, New York, as United States president, succeeding Art Zeidman, who left to join Pixability as executive vice president for sales and chief revenue officer. Mr. Kosinski most recently was senior vice president for sales at Quantcast.

â–  Rodd Chant joined Bannistar as executive creative director, overseeing the creative output and creative staff members at the offices in Singapore and Tokyo, as well as working with agency executives on plans to open a satellite office in New York. Mr. Chant, who most recently ran his own creative consultancy, will be primarily based in Singapore but will also spend time in New York.

â–  Sean Rosenberg joined Code Worldwide, New York, part of the Diversified Agency Services division of the Omnicom Group, as global head of mobile, a new post. He most recently was senior vice president for business development at Indaba Music.

■ Michael Kantrow and Tom Ajello, founding partners of Poke New York, part of Poke, London, completed a management buyout of Poke New York, which they renamed Makeable. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal came as Poke, a digital agency, was acquired by the Publicis Groupe, Paris, becoming a part of the Publicis Groupe’s operations in Britain. Mother Holdings, which had been a minority investor in Poke New York, is also a minority investor in Makeable.

â–  Mary Baglivo joined her alma mater, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., in a new post, as vice president for global marketing and chief marketing officer. She most recently was chairwoman and chief executive for Latin America and multicultural at Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, part of the Publicis Groupe.

â–  Marlene Sanchez Dooner, senior vice president for investor relations at the Comcast Corporation, was named to a new post at the NBCUniversal unit of Comcast, executive vice president for Hispanic enterprises and content, reporting to Joe Uva, chairman for Hispanic enterprises and content, which include Telemundo and Mun2.

Miscellany

■ Federal Trade Commission, Washington, plans to offer a workshop on Dec. 4 devoted to the subject of native advertising, also known as sponsored content and content marketing. The workshop, the commission’s first on the subject, will explore whether native ads blur the line between editorial content and advertising to the point where consumers are confused or misled. In a statement, the commission said its examination of native ads was in keeping with its scrutiny over several decades of how clear the distinction between content and advertising is to consumers. It cited challenges to deceptive practices like Web sites that pretend to be news sites and infomercials that are styled like television programs.

â–  Straightline, New York, a brand consultancy, opened an office in London. As Michael Watras, chief executive, divides his time between clients at both offices, Andrea Cotter, managing director of the agency, becomes president.

â–  Van Winkle & Associates, Atlanta, was renamed Van Winkle & Pearce after Bobby Pearce, who joined the agency last year, became a co-owner with Alex Van Winkle.

â–  “Inspired,” a commercial for the Canon Eos Rebel T4i camera, won the 2013 Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial at the 65th annual Creative Arts Emmys. The spot was created by Grey New York â€" part of the Grey division of the Grey Group, owned by WPP â€" and directed by Nicolai Fuglsig of MJZ.

â–  CKSK, Dublin, expanded to the United States by opening an office in New York, to be called CKSK USA. The agency also has an office in Amsterdam. CKSK USA will work for clients that include Heineken USA and Pernod Ricard.

â–  Neverstop, New York and Seattle, was acquired by the CHR Group, New York, a marketing services agency holding group. Financial terms were not disclosed. Nasir Rasheed, president and chief cultural engineer at Neverstop, becomes a shareholder in CHR and will join the board; Neverstop will operate as an autonomous brand within CHR.

■ The Station, New York, a post-production and content production company, started a division called The Writer’s Room, offering advertisers and agencies a roster of writers with backgrounds in movies, television and sketch comedy.

â–  Talent Partners, New York, which provides production and talent support services for agencies and marketers, opened Talent Partners Canada, Toronto, through a merger with Canadian Connection. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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