• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 17, 2007

Interpublic, in the throes of a plan to find greater operating efficiencies among its media operations, just found two: The consolidation of one of its boutique media buying and planning units into a bigger network; and the departure of the top executive of a high profile media negotiating unit in what could be a harbinger of other changes to come. Media First International, an entrepreneurial media shop acquired by Interpublic in 2002, will be folded into Initiative North America, effective Jan. 1, 2008, the same date Bill Cella steps down as chairman-CEO of Interpublic's Magna Global Worldwide unit.

Interpublic insiders maintain that both moves were made independent of a new holding company task force created to find and implement operating efficiencies across its media services operations, but Cella's departure, at least, would seem to clear a path for further changes to come at Magna, a unit that some have already questioned as a fat piece of overhead in an organization looking to streamline its operations.

The decision to fold Media First was made at the end of November, when Initiative submitted its 2008 operating budget to Interpublic management, and before Interpublic officially initiated the new task force, headed by Universal McCann chief Nick Brien.

Media First, which has technically operated under the Initiative Group, ever since it was acquired by Interpublic, will be shut down and, Ed Weiner, president-CEO of Media First will become a group account director at Initiative overseeing the former Media First accounts. Media First, which claims $355 million in billings, according to its Web site, services clients such as Cablevision Systems, Vtech, Delta Dental, Northwest Airlines, and Fuse.

It was not clear at presstime what might happen with the rest of the Media First team, but the agency was founded in 1992 by former J. Walter Thompson media chief Richard Kostyra and a group of former Madison Avenue media execs. Kostyra has since retired, but Media First's Web site currently lists 12 top executives.

"Media First International's 'flat system' of management is unique in our industry," reads a description of the unit on Interpublic's corporate Web site. "Mfi clients receive pro-active service from our team of senior media professionals. Each account is managed by one of our 10 partner/account directors who serve as the day-to-day contact, chief media strategist, media planner and print/out of home negotiator. Each Mfi partner has 25+ years of media management experience and a thorough working knowledge of media research, planning and negotiating. Each partner manages a small portion of Mfi's business, permitting them to get deeply involved in each client's business. They are creative, resourceful and imaginative media professionals."

While independent of the Interpublic media task force's initiative, the reduction of Media First's overhead on Initiative's P&L no doubt is consistent with Interpublic's overall goal of reducing extraneous costs, operating inefficiencies and boosting the profitability of its media operations. For those same reasons, observers are looking into Cella's departure from Interpublic as more than just a simple executive transition.

Cella, who was also previously named vice chairman of Interpublic's DraftFCB unit, will not be replaced in either of his Interpublic roles.

Interpublic insiders say Cella played a positive role at DraftFCB, but was less at home with its focus on "the highly addressable, digital thing," than his roots in national broadcast. Before taking the helm of Interpublic's Magna unit in 2001, Cella was executive vice president-director of broadcast and programming at Universal McCann North America, and had previously been a network sales executive.

In a statement, Cella, 57, said he is, "looking forward to the next chapter in media which will include the opportunities that a combination of traditional and digital media represent for the future."

His departure, meanwhile, raises important questions for the future of Magna, which some see as redundant with other parts of Interpublic's media organization. While most of the TV and media-buying related research of Interpublic's Initiative and Universal McCann units has been consolidated at Magna, whose research and industry analytics team are considered some of the best and most knowledgeable in the industry, the notion of having a centralized media negotiating team working with the heads of media buying at the respective media shops has the appearance of largesse at a time when Interpublic is scrutinizing extraneous costs in its media operations. Some insiders say that may be one reason why Cella chose to leave now.