-By Adweek Staff

BOSTON Leveraging its fashion and retail expertise, independent Toth Brand Imaging said it has added specialty apparel chain New York & Co. for marketing chores.

The retailer previously handled such efforts itself, and Toth will collaborate with the client's in-house team on upcoming campaigns. New York & Co. spent $2.5 million on ads last year and about $800,000 through the first five months of 2008, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based shop's first work for New York & Co. will break in the fall. Print, outdoor and online efforts will be the focus, though Toth will also help refine the company's in-store experience.

The chain is based in New York and operates about 600 stores in 44 states, as well as an e-commerce operation at www.nyandcompany.com.

Toth is perhaps best known for ads that helped make Tommy Hilfiger an iconic brand. More recently, in February it launched a campaign for K-Swiss that introduced the theme "Keep it pure" and featured tennis stars Tommy Haas, Alona Bondarenko and Anna Kournikova and triathlete Chris Lieto, among others.