• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 29, 2008

OMD this week announced plans to place its top digital media executive in charge of all of its East Coast operations as part of an effort to put digital at "its strategic core." The move closely follows the departure of Omnicom digital media chief Sean Finnegan, and similar efforts by rival agencies--including Carat, Publicis, and GroupM--to fully integrate digital and traditional media.

The reorganization moves Scott Hagedorn to managing director of the East Coast region from U.S. director of OMD Digital.

"Media is driving decisions today, and digital media is increasingly at the core of that infrastructure," Hagedorn said of the philosophy now driving OMD.

"Digital at the core of our infrastructure also gives us an edge on tracking campaigns at every level," Hagedorn added.

Specific campaigns benefiting from this new approach include OMD's "Crush the Superbowl" initiative for Doritos, and its Nissan "Heroes" campaign.

As part of the reorganization, OMD said ongoing employee training will be put in place to help "nurture digital media and new technologies as a core competency amongst all team members."

In a statement, OMD North America CEO Page Thompson said the move reflected the integration of digital and traditional media at the highest strategic levels within OMD's organization.

"These shifts represent the industry's move to a more digitally focused media strategy," Thompson said. "So-called traditional media is certainly still a critical component of the media mix, but we are preparing for the future, as media and technology evolve and as digital platforms become more prolific."

In a related move, OMD named long-time media strategist Mark Stewart global account and strategy director on its Visa account.