Many of you have been kind enough to tip us off to some changes going on inside BBDO’s New York agency as well as Atmosphere. We’ve chased down the news, ironed out the bullshit and turned it all into an easy to read bulleted list. Let the learnin’ begin:
— Yes, there were layoffs at Atmosphere BBDO, as we reported on Tuesday. A source tells us somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 people were let go and will not be replaced.
— BBDO New York let go of fewer than 10 people this week, each of whom is set to be replaced. The reasoning, we’re told, has to do with client needs. Some of those let go were among the group that came from Atmosphere when that shop merged with Proximity BBDO. Yeah, that was real.
One of our sources warned us that BBDO’s PR team would downplay this news and call it restructuring. Wrong, they’re “reorganizing”.
Per an agency representative: “We are in the process of reorganizing…bringing in new people who provide different skill sets to help us meet the changing needs of our clients.”
So for now there are some open desks. We understand how some of you must be feeling — so we’ll keep an eye on those empty desks. If they’re never filled, you’ll have been right. But we’re pretty sure BBDO will want to let us know when the warm bodies are brought in.
Keep in mind that when David Lubars came in back in 2004 he almost immediately began changing things around, axing the type of creativity that ended with a :30 spot. Here again, the focus is, seemingly, an improved digital squad. Better, faster, stronger. But it can’t be bad not having to pay a few salaries in the meantime, eh?
Final note: BBDO has been fairly transparent regarding layoffs. Compared to some agencies that patently deny this stuff or just don’t call us back and leave us to our speculating devices, their PR teams seem to get it. Why? Well when we post it you can guess other publications hit the ground running as well. We’re not always first on these things but lately, and with layoffs, you’ve been all over giving us the details.
More: “Breaking: Atmosphere BBDO To Be Absorbed by Proximity Worldwide”