• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 3, 2008

Direct response planning and buying agency Mercury Communications has tapped former Wunderman President Eric Larsen as CEO. Larsen leads a company formed in April 2007 via the merger of DR shops Mercury Media, Advanced Results Marketing and RMG Marketing.

Mercury said Larsen will look to elevate the agency's brand after the merger, as well as explore acquisition opportunities and bring on more key staff.

"Corporate marketers are turning to direct-response marketing in record numbers because of its ability to provide precise measurement ... New technologies, like DVRs and satellite radio, which give consumers control over how much marketing information they're exposed to, have challenged us to develop new and innovative ways of helping companies reach their target audiences," Larsen said.

Larsen spent almost a decade at Apple, rising to head the North American customer communications unit. He then moved to Gateway before Young & Rubicam's Wunderman DR operation, where clients included Ford, Sony and Xerox.

John Cabrinha, co-chairman of Mercury's board, said Larsen's "25 years of senior leadership experience in sales, product marketing, brand building and general management of Fortune 100 companies clearly made him our top choice for this job."

Mercury is based in New York, with offices in Santa Monica, Boston and Phoenix, and the agency works on long- and short-form ads.