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Exit of WPP Alumnus Heyer Leaves Opening for IPG

NEW YORK Steve Heyer’s decision last week to step down as COO of Coca-Cola Co. leaves WPP roster shops particularly vulnerable, sources said. Heyer, a former Young & Rubicam executive and WPP board member, began loosening IPG’s grip on the company’s advertising in 2002, when he moved the Sprite and Fanta accounts from IPG’s Lowe to WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather. That same year, he chose Berlin Cameron/Red Cell’s Coke Classic strategy and “Real” campaign, and in 2003 shifted lead creative duties from IPG’s McCann Erickson to WPP’s Berlin Cameron.