• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 1, 2008

Ignited, an ad agency based in Los Angeles, is opening an office in New York, marking another reverse-migration from Hollywood to Madison Avenue (or, more precisely, Marina del Rey to Chelsea). Although the agency is being circumspect, the move likely accompanies the acquisition of new business with New York-based clients.

The timing is interesting, as Wall Street is gripped by financial turmoil, but Ignited President Eric Johnson seemed unfazed--in fact, he said the economy's woes are actually an opportunity for interactive agencies: "As many large network agencies scale back, we're leaning forward. As money leaves mass media and goes into digital and experiential, we want to be able to take advantage of those opportunities on both coasts."

The upstart agency also announced several new hires to staff the New York office. Ignited is bringing on board Bryan Duffy as executive vice president of experiential marketing and managing director for the New York office.

Previously, Duffy served as executive vice president of sales and marketing for TransWorld Marketing, which does in-store shopper marketing and retail communications. Duffy also worked for event agencies Proactive and PGI in New York.

David Axline is joining Ignited as vice president of business intelligence. Before coming on board, he served as vice president and director of strategic services for Young and Rubicam brands, using research and analytics to help guide client strategy. He also worked for 20 years with Hyundai, managing their customer relationship marketing.

Back in Los Angeles, Ignited also promoted David Martin to vice president of digital media, after several years managing the agency's strategic program development, media planning and campaign analysis. To date, he has worked with clients such as Universal, Activision, Sega, Buena Vista and Jamba Juice.

Ignited also promoted Margie Johnson to vice president of interactive production, after four years leading its interactive production team. Before joining Ignited, Johnson worked for interactive agencies including Media Revolution and DNA Studio. She has worked for clients such as Sony Pictures, Nestle and Universal.