JWT Hopes Its Reorg Will Shed Dusty Image

J. Walter Thompson is reorganizing the staff on its Ford Motor account into “hot shops,” with names like Liquid 35 and Mind Racer, in an effort to shed its stodgy image, spur more creativity and get a faster turnaround on work.
The revamp is designed to make the agency “more nimble” while also maintaining the integrated capabilities of a large shop, said Mike Gonyea, JWT’s executive management director.
The moves were internally motivated and not a result of prompting by Ford, president Peter Schweitzer said.