• by Joe Mandese , March 6, 2006

ORLANDO - Three former top strategic media thinkers on Madison Avenue have landed at new jobs - two of them at media companies, where they will help position the effectiveness of those media outlets to their former colleagues in the ad industry. While no formal announcement have yet been made, all three of those executives - former MediaCom consumer strategist Tony Jarvis, former OMD research diva Beth Uyenco, and former MPG planning guru Steve Moynihan - all made public appearances in their new roles at the American Association of Advertising Agencies' Media Conference and Trade Show here.

Jarvis, who was senior vice president-director of strategic insights at MediaCom before taking a one-year sabbatical to work for Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio), showed up wearing a tag identifying him as an executive of outstood media giant Clear Channel Outdoor. When asked, Jarvis demurred on his new role, saying it has yet to be announced, but he presumably is heading research for the outdoor media company.

Beth Uyenco, who was director of communications insights for OMD, meanwhile, has joined Microsoft as director of research for MSN.

Moynihan, who previously was executive vice president-managing director of MPG, before taking a brief sabbatical to become director of media marketing and business development for Austin, Tex.-based GSD&M, where he helped win the BMW account, has decided to resettle permanently in Austin, where he has hung his own shingle: Moynihan/Media.

At the conference, Moynihan was representing Dutch software developer pointlogic, which has developed the Compose communications planning system with WPP's Kantar Media Research unit.

Moynihan said his business will focus on three areas: advising media search companies on Madison Avenue; helping agencies position their media services to clients; and cross-platform media branding.