• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 10, 2005

At a time when research about the way people use media would seem more important to agencies and their clients than ever before, Madison Avenue is losing some of its smartest and most experienced research minds. In a brain drain that began about two years ago, but which accelerated late last year, most of the top media agencies have lost their senior-most media research executive, with the exception of one--Starcom MediaVest Group.

The latest defection, David Marans' departure as a senior partner and head of media research at WPP's MindShare unit, is perhaps one of the most symbolic. Marans was among the most knowledgeable, passionate, and colorful agency media researchers in the business, and was a staunch advocate for media R&D and innovation. But ironically, that may be one of the major reasons why Marans and many of his colleagues are departing Madison Avenue, and going to the supply side, where they can have a direct role in developing new research products.

That was the reason Andrew Green cited when he left the top research post at OMD in November 2003 to develop a media research practice at Billetts, the U.K.-based media auditing and performance monitoring firm. Green has since landed back on the agency side, returning to his roots at Zenith Media, as has his U.S.-based counterpart Bruce Goerlich, a former head of research at MediaVest.

Another top media researcher, Jim Kite, left his long-time agency, Universal McCann, to take a top post at another, MediaVest.

Others have simply abandoned Madison Avenue, including two--former MediaVest Research Chief Maryellen Vincent and Carat research diva Joanne Burke--for personal reasons, who say they may not return.

Others, including former MediaCom's Tony Jarvis and Universal McCann's Jon Swallen, were casualties of research department downsizing. Both have since landed on the sales side: Jarvis as the top research executive at Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting unit, and Swallen as the head of research for competitive media tracking firm TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.

Other top media research casualties include Tonya Deniz--who sources say has left the top media research job at MPG and Arnold to take a non-research job at MediaCom--and former Zenith Media Research Chief Gregg Liebmann, who left to work for CNN.

Another top media shop, Optimedia, has had its top research post vacant for a couple of years, and uses the research department of ZenithOptimedia Group.

Interestingly, Marans is not the first top agency media research executive to sign up with IAG Research. Barbara Zack was recruited from PhD last year and Cheryl Idell previously bolted the top research job at Initiative Media to work for IAG, although she now works for 20th Century Fox--and her successor Ira Sussman left that post to run the research department at the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau.

"It's a time of great change, and for those folks on the agency side who have had both strategic roles and product development roles, they're looking for new opportunities where they can make a difference," said Alan Gould, founder and co-CEO of IAG Research.

If that's true, it's a sad statement for Madison Avenue, which always prided itself on innovative media R&D.

"If I were a marketer, I'd be furious," said one former agency media research honcho. "I'd be asking my agencies why they're not reinvesting in research at a time of such tremendous change."

One of the few agencies that can easily answer that question is Starcom MediaVest Group, which continues to reinvest in its research department personnel and resources, with an emphasis on developing new, proprietary research tools customized for individual clients.

Top Agency Media Research Executive Departures

May 2005: David Marans leaves MindShare  
April 2005: Jim Kite leaves Universal McCann  
March 2005: Tonya Deniz leaves MPG  
December 2004: Joanne Burke leaves Carat

November 2004: Maryellen Vincent leaves MediaVest  
September 2004: Tony Jarvis leaves MediaCom Worldwide  
April 2004: Gregg Liebmann leaves Zenith Media 
April 2004: Barbara
Zack leaves PhD
December 2003: Jon Swallen leaves Universal McCann  
November 2003: Andrew Green leaves OMD  
August 2003: Ira Sussman leaves Initiative Media  

Source: MediaDailyNews compilation.