• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 20, 2016

New York-based WPP agency Young & Rubicam will open a 50-person shop in Memphis to help service the $457 million Navy Recruiting Command account it won last year. The agency office will be located at Brinkley Plaza Downtown.

Of the office opening, Y&R Global CEO David Sable said, “Every day we feel the importance of our mission to help the Navy recruit talent. We believe being in close proximity to the recruiting command will benefit the way we work together and therefore the work. We are also excited by the prospect of infusing our team with top talent from the region. With our partner agencies, we think we have a great complement of people that we have brought to the table and we are focused, committed and eager to do great work."

The new office will bring the Memphis area WPP employee count to about 120 counting the 60 Wunderman and 8 Burson employees already in the area.

The opening was delayed due to legal appeals by the account's previous agency, Lowe Campbell Ewald Detroit, which argued the Navy should not have used price as a differentiating factor when choosing Y&R over Lowe Campbell Ewald.