• by Larissa Faw , December 5, 2019

MDC Partners is forming a creative hub led by agency Doner that serves as the latest step in Chairman/CEO Mark Penn's revitalization plan and follows July's announcement to align Gale and Assembly to bring together data and media services.

These transformations are designed to offer wider services to clients, streamline back-office operations within MDC and promote cooperation and collaboration in the delivery of new marketing offerings.

The Doner-led network brings together digital influencer marketing and PR offering Veritas (with Meat&Produce); shopper marketing agency 6Degrees Integrated Communications; Yamamoto, a brand and advertising agency based in Minneapolis and Chicago; creative, technology and media agency Union in Toronto and Montreal; brand strategy and digital PR agency KWT Global in New York, London and Toronto; and New York & LA-based luxury and lifestyle PR agency HL Group.

Doner CEO David DeMuth will serve as Chair of the network, with Krista Webster, CEO of Veritas and Meat&Produce, and Kathy McCuskey, CEO of Yamamoto, as Vice-Chairs.

In addition, agency CEOs Troy Yung (6Degrees), Lynn Tesoro (HL Group), Aaron Kwittken (KWT Global), and Sub Nijjar (Union), will continue to lead their individual firms and play key roles in growing, aligning and modernizing their respective capabilities across the network.

“Today’s clients demand a combination of sophisticated, integrated marketing services in order to get the right message to the right person at the right time,” says Penn. “This network will deliver unparalleled storytelling, brand building and performance to the North American marketplace.”

The new hub arrives as Doner marks 2019 as one of the most significant periods of growth and evolution in the agency's 82-year history.

Doner's positioning as a full-service agency headquartered in Detroit and sitting at the “intersection of Modern and Main Street” has evidentially proven to be very attractive to clients.

This year's competitive wins include new relationships with McDonald’s (regional co-ops); Johnson & Johnson (Tylenol, Listerine, Zyrtec); Del Monte Foods; Amazon (Rivet and Amazon Studios); Nature’s Bounty; Prestone; Hackensack Meridian Heath; MedStar Health; Cinemark; Kellogg’s; Clorox; Premier Health.

The agency also expanded relationships with McDonald’s (field creative and production); Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (adding multi-cultural AOR duties and Tier 3 production); Coca-Cola (Fairlife, Core Power, Yup and Simply social media work); Harman (automotive OEM initiatives and JBL global campaigns).

“This is all about evolving the agency model," says DeMuth. "In a world where more entrepreneurial entities compete with well-established holding companies, a fresh, collaborative take on how firms can adapt today – while better serving their clients – has more to offer than looking in the rear-view mirror."

Penn tipped off analysts that this move was coming during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. A second similar network is also in the works, Penn said at the time.