New Business Bonanza

Agency Closings Create Fresh Opportunities
BOSTON–The demise of Leonard/Monahan and the planned closing of North Castle Partners’ Hub office have raised questions about the future of several accounts with combined estimated billings of $20-25 million.
Many of the clients involved have yet to make their marketing plans known, but some agency executives foresee reviews in the near future.
Two cases in point are Star Markets, the Cambridge, Mass.-based grocery store chain, and WellsPark Group, the shopping mall management company in Newton, Mass. The clients, in the process of finishing up work with North Castle, each spend between $5-8 million a year on advertising, according to North Castle president Cliff McFeely.
Carol Gates, executive vice president of marketing for Star Markets, said she has not yet decided whether to hire an outside consultant to conduct a review or choose an agency herself.
WellsPark officials did not return calls by press time, but sources close to the client said although a review is possible, the company is seriously considering pulling its business in-house.
The announcement last week that Leonard/Monahan is closing its doors leaves several clients in the lurch.
Garelick Farms in Franklin, Mass., which spends about $2-3 million on advertising annually, is moving quickly to replace the Providence, R.I., shop, according to John Kellogg, the client’s vice president of marketing.
Kellogg has selected an undisclosed “outside resource” to handle media buying, he said. As for broadcast creative chores, Kellogg plans to hold “informal talks” with area agencies and freelancers but stressed that “this is not a full-blown review.” He is hoping to hire a creative partner within a month.
Chocolatier Lindt & Sprungli in Stratham, N.H., will work with Boston-based Clarke Goward on a project basis during the client’s busy Easter season, sources said. Spending is expected to be less than $1 million. Officials at Lindt and Clarke Goward could not be reached by press time.
Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, R.I., has moved its business to LBC Design, also Providence, for which former Leonard/Monahan chairman Bruce Leonard is expected to consult, said hospital official May Kernan.
Less than two weeks ago, Leonard/Monahan trumpeted its plans for a national multimedia campaign touting Foster Grant. The Dallas-based maker of fashion sunglasses spends an estimated $3-5 million on advertising. Ads were to revive the classic “Whose that behind those Foster Grants?” tagline from the 1960s and ’70s. Client officials did not return calls, and the status of the campaign could not be determined by press time.
The account of Providence-Southern, a power consortium, may also be up for grabs. The Providence, R.I.-based company did not return calls.
Boston Bed & Bath in Sharon, Mass., which pulled its account from Leonard/Monahan some months ago, is now handling advertising in-house, said Amy Sheffield, the company’s marketing manager.