• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 15, 2004

At a time when most big brand agencies continue to unbundled their media services into standalone media shops, FCB is elevating its internal media capabilities into a separate media network within parent Interpublic's portfolio. On Tuesday, FCB named Rich Gagnon worldwide president of FCB Media, reestablishing the a global media stature that has not existed within FCB since legendary media director Joe Ostrow left to become president of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau in 1994.

The move is also telling, because Gagnon had come up through FCB's digital media ranks, serving as media director of FCBi before being named media director for FCB's New York office in 2000, succeeding Ellen Oppenheim who left to become chief marketing officer of the Magazine Publishers of America.

Exactly why FCB is elevating its internal media director's function to global status wasn't exactly clear by the announcement, which was made late Tuesday, but the agency appears to be positioning its media operations as a genuine alternative to unbundled media services networks. In the past year, it has won media-only assignments from The New York Times and Hoffman La Roche, as well as a high-profile account from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Other standalone media accounts include: Coors, Hilton, Merck and Taco Bell.

Moreover, the agency brands its media operations as FCB Media, positioning it as something of a standalone product within FCB, and a media services unit that is distinct from parent Interpublic's Initiative Media and Magna Global units, which handle broadcast buying, negotiating, econometric and branded content development for FCB's clients as part of the holding company's internal media consolidation efforts.

In recent months, there has been speculation, including some trade reports, that Interpublic may be rethinking the structure of its media services operations, especially Magna, but insiders say the system is working well and that other agency holding companies plan to follow suit. In fact, Omnicom, the biggest buyer of media in the world, has indicated plans to import OPrah, a centralized media negotiating unit modeled after Magna, into the U.S. soon. The assumption is that OPrah would work with Omnicom's OMD and PHD media units to coordinate and leverage negotiations with the media.

But the elevation of FCB Media, and Gagnon's role within it, signals a corresponding trend that some clients may be growing dissatisfied with the notion of unbundled media services that may grow detached from the original brand planning and strategies developed by their brand management and agency account and creative management teams. Most freestanding media agencies on Madison Avenue have sought to reinstall themselves into that process, or to take a leadership position in stewarding their client's brands through communications planning approaches that elevate the role of media in the brand planning process.

However, FCB went out of its way to point out that it "maintains a progressive communications planning" role, as well as direct and digital capabilities, "while being formally aligned with Interpublic's media buying operations. As part of the move, Gagnon will become a member of both FCB's global operating board, as well as the Magna Global media board.