• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 25, 2008

Gearing up for a broad image overhaul, The Wall Street Journal has selected New York-based agency McGarry Bowen to handle creative for its future cross-platform branding projects.

Seeking new readers, Dow Jones & Company has recently launched several new products and enhancements to its existing properties. Some of these initiatives include WSJ Magazine, a redesigned WSJ.com, the WSJ Mobile Reader and WSJwine, along with additional pages to its print edition.

"We haven't done any sizable campaign to date, and it's about time to get out the word on these new services," said Paul Bascobert, chief marketing officer, Dow Jones & Company. "There's a lot more to our products than I think people are aware of, so we need to bring awareness to the market about what we've got."

Bascobert declined to offer any specifics on the impending campaign, with regard to time frames, creative direction or breadth. "We're just now considering how to best reposition the brand," he said. "It's a lot more complicated than doing a big broadcast campaign."

In terms of target markets, Bascobert said the Journal brand cuts across demographics, and therefore cannot be characterized by gender, age, or affinity. "Affluent" and "influential" is how he describes his target audience.

McGarry Bowen is responsible for developing The Wall Street Journal's "Every Journey Needs a Journal" online and print brand campaign, which launched in February 2007. The campaign, which featured celebrities ranging from Calvin Klein to Susan Sarandon explaining how the Journal has shaped their lives, was very successful, according to Bascobert.

Based in New York, McGarry Bowen's other clients include Marriott, Chase, Reebok, Disney, Kraft and Hewlett-Packard.