• by Joe Mandese , June 3, 2008

Three months after the surprising ouster of long-time GM Planworks chief Dennis Donlin, Publicis' dedicated General Motors media services unit has announced a major restructuring that will trim its organization by 25 positions, or about 5% of its total staff.

In a statement, Starcom MediaVest Group/The Americas CEO Laura Desmond described the restructuring as a "streamlined model" that would place a greater emphasis on "digital talent and tools, multicultural, consumer intelligence/research and innovative vendor partnership opportunities---assets that become increasingly vital to the success of all consumer connection plans."

That said, General Motors, once the nation's largest advertiser and for a long-time, the nation's largest television advertiser, has been challenged in both its marketing and media mix, and has been placing a greater emphasis in digital and online marketing as new car buyers shift the way they make purchase decisions.

SMG didn't disclose what specific talent and tools would go into the new mix, but the agency recently unveiled the development of a new consumer tracking tool dubbed IntenTrack, which can identify which types of media and channel marketing options have the greatest influence on product purchasing decisions (MediaDailyNews May 1). That new tool, in development for more than a year, is believed to be having a profound affect on the way SMG plans and buys media for its clients, and may be a factor in the GM Planworks reorganization.

"In the past few months, SMG has been evaluating the Planworks operating model in relation to the shifting media landscape and the automotive consumer's evolving path to purchase," the agency said on announcing the reorganization. "To lead in this dynamic consumer contact environment, it has become clear that we need to optimize tasks and redesign aspects of our talent structure in pursuit of a simplified, fine-tuned service model. This shift in emphasis will allow us to invest in stronger digital capabilities while also delivering accelerated growth and more efficient scale."