Today our colleagues at the Adweek got the scoop regarding a couple of tips we received earlier today: WPP’s dedicated Ford agencies have come together under the Global Team Blue umbrella.
No, this is not a Hillary Clinton endorsement. It’s a reference to the client’s blue logo.
This means that Team Detroit, the international division Blue Hive and the SEO/traffic booster shop Retail First will now all operate as Global Team Blue.
The three units have already been working together on the Ford business for 9 years, and the holding company positioned the move in a statement as “a way to simplify our offering and our branding to allow for a clearer positioning.”
It’s unclear whether this shift will have any noticeable effect on the operations of the three formerly independent units. On the staffing side, Team Detroit’s chief content officer/global CCO Toby Barlow and global chief operating officer Kim Brink will fill the same roles at the GTB.
The newly formed entity will operate over 49 offices around the world.
It’s unclear what, specifically, led to this rebranding effort. We did learn in March that Team Detroit had parted ways with “less than 1 percent of the population” in order to more effectively address Ford’s newfound focus on mobile and digital marketing amid what the client described as “record operating results” for 2015.
We also learned in January that Team Detroit had won a pitch to refresh the Purina brand, which is not in any way related to Ford because you should never let your dog ride in the bed of your truck.