Someone really wants us to keep posting on West, the San Francisco-based agency that refuses to respond to anything resembling a press query.
First, we went over TechCrunch’s unenthusiastic review of the agency’s homepage. Then we heard that West had lost a large chunk of its business (the agency and the other contacts that our readers suggested did not respond to our requests for more information).
We heard that various executives who had left the agency were doing well with their own ventures. This is not really news.
Over the last week or so, however, we have received conflicting tips about the newest top creative executive at West.
Last week, a tipster repeatedly claimed that John Norman, still listed as CCO at Translation in New York, had been hired to fill the position. This extremely persistent person sent several tips with multiple exclamation points despite the fact that Norman’s name was missing from the list of cuts that hit Translation’s creative department earlier this month and that Malika Toure of AdAge wrote a “Six Things You Didn’t Know” piece about him just two and a half months ago.
The latest rumor to land in our inbox holds that Steven Goldblatt, who inspired one of our more creative requests for information back in January, has been “wooed” (their word) by the agency to serve as CCO and, possibly, even partner. One tip claimed that Goldblatt, who left the CDO position at Mullen in February after approximately a year, has visisted West’s office; this story implied that his work at EVB had convinced the agency that he might be able to engineer a turnaround.
Before joining EVB in 2008, Goldblatt served as GCD/AD at GS&P for several years and spent extended periods in art director roles at BSSP and DDB.
Again, we’ve received absolutely nothing from the agency itself and our tip box is filled with contradictory claims. But we will post updates when they arrive.