• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 4, 2020

Interpublic Group has given its Constituency Management Group of specialist marketing agencies a brand makeover.

The unit is now called IPG Dxtra, which certainly rolls of the tongue a little easier than Constituency Management Group.

The new moniker aims to punctuate the core mission of bringing diversity (of people, skills and backgrounds) and something extra to the special marketing needs of clients.

The group is now being positioned as a collective offering capabilities in PR, experiential, sponsorships, innovation, branding, influencer, digital, social and analytics.  And there is a renewed emphasis on collaboration within the group and the broader IPG constellation of companies per the latter’s “open architecture” process for serving clients.

You’re probably familiar with many of the brands (28 in all) including PR firms Golin and Weber Shandwick, experiential agency Jack Morton, sports and entertainment marketing shop Octagon, branding firm FutureBrand and health care-focused Virgo Health and dna.

The group is overseen by Andy Polansky who was named Chairman and CEO of CMG in 2019. He was previously CEO at Weber Shandwick.

“We have seen how uniquely configured agency solutions and diverse teams can bring powerful business results,” Polansky stated.  “IPG Dxtra is built to deliver a highly strategic, focused approach...It’s a collaborative model that melds the power and vision of specialized organizations in a way that honors their differences and maximizes client investment.”

The makeover follows the appointment of the group’s leadership team in late 2019 that includes Cathy Calhoun, Chief Growth Officer, Laura Schoen, Chief Healthcare Officer, Abby Gold, Chief Human Resources Officer, Margenett Moore-Roberts, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Christopher Carroll, Chief Financial Officer and Josh Kauffman, General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs.