• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 13, 2014

Continuing its poaching of ad agency execs, Apple, which aims to build its in-house marketing department from 300 to as many as 600 staffers, has hired Wolff Olins Global CEO Karl Heiselman. Heiselman, who once worked for Apple in the early 1990s when Steve Jobs returned, has been with Wolff Olins for 14 years. Of his earlier time at Apple, Heiselman said: "It was a bit of a weird time, they were trying to find their way. The big lesson I learned was they were trying to be somebody they weren't and Jobs came back and said very clearly, 'we are going to go back to who we really are'." As Apple faces increased competition, most notably from Samsung, Heiselman will have big strides to make. But he's aware of the problem and believes the brand is sometimes "a little too cool for its own good. I think it might be in danger of becoming too cool, maybe not too cool, but too slick." Here's hoping he can save things.

Programmatic buying. You know, that practice where computers talk to computers to place ads on other computers all without human intervention? Okay -- we simplify, but it's drastically changed how things work in the agency space. Some agencies are partnering with technology providers. Others are just freaking out. Mediamath Chief Revenue Officer Erich Wasserman says no one needs to freak out and that advertisers, agencies are ad tech providers can peacefully coexist. He tells the Drum: "Unsurprisingly, this trend has caused some in the agency space to feel unsettled. Media scaremongering positions ad tech companies as attempting to disintermediate agencies, which -- from our perspective -- is absolutely not the case. To the contrary, some of the most successful relationships within our global business rely on the brand and agency relationship thriving -- leveraging insights, availing themselves of deep ecosystem integrations, and growing and optimizing spend based on the outputs of a strong platform." Okay -- maybe that's just more buzzword bingo, but we're all for a mutually beneficial threesome.

Jumping aboard the production agency trend, Omnicom Group has announced the merging of E-Graphics Worldwide and Hub Plus to form eg+ Worldwide, an entity that will "provide a client-focused network for production and tailored implementation solutions." The new company aims to help global brands "implement, amplify and localize" creative programs across multiple media channels. Of eg+ worldwide's launch, Omnicom President and CEO John Wren said: "With the launch of eg+, we are leveraging the very best technologies, talent and the extensive resources within Omnicom to help our clients meet the challenges of an increasingly diverse, complex, and global media landscape." eg+ worldwide will have 1,200 staffers who will be overseen by CEO Paul Hosea.

You've got to love how agencies explain away layoffs, fires and mass exits. Following the exit of several employees, here's what Tribal DDB had to say. “In the normal course of business, people are presented with opportunities to take on different, new, and challenging opportunities. As sad as we are to see some of our colleagues leave Tribal to pursue these new opportunities, we’re happy that other companies recognize their talent and the value of the experience they have gained at Tribal. We also wish them well and look forward to welcoming new colleagues in their stead.” Whatever happened to the simple "creative differences?"

advertisement

advertisement