An uninformed report by the New York Post takes a peek into the ongoing drama that is Enfatico in an article entitled, “WPP’S ENFATICO IS EMPHATICALLY TRASHED.” This week’s creation of Enfartico is mentioned, but missing are the allegations that Dell is laying Enfatico addies off, Dell Australia’s apparent desire to wash its hands of WPP, and much more.
NYP fails to bring up implications of the confusing lease, the Apple cover-up and other definitive evidence that a lot is amiss with WPP’s baby. In fact, it suggests (via a quote from Enfatico CEO Torrence Boone) that things could actually turn around. From the Post:
“In some ways (the backlash is) not surprising. We are trying to do something different. It’s the largest global agency startup in history.”
I guess that means that in other ways, Boone is surprised by the backlash? Oh, and we’re supposed to think big is different? Right.
Given the New York Post’s apparent lack of understanding on the subject, we surmise more homework should have been done before this story went to press. After all, there’s nothing emphatic about the public perception of Enfatico.
More after the jump.
We have no desire to see anyone lose their job should Enfatico fail. But success just doesn’t seem likely. As Tribble points out to a commenter, the negative press surrounding the agency could keep good people from joining Enfatico. He notes, “…would you uproot your family and relocate to take a job that had an expiration date in 839 (ed’s note: now 838) days? Even if you would, most people wouldn’t…especially the ones with experience and the skill-set needed to get the job done.”
NYP said of the landmark WPP deal that hatched one-eyed Enfatico, “There were also hard feelings, judging by the backlash against the agency. In the nine months since its launch, Enfatico has become a punching bag for an industry already battered by shrinking fees, demanding clients and constant change.”
Yeah, that’s true. But only because 800 agencies (save for Mother NY) lost a ton of business (and were forced to lay off loads of people as a result) due to a know-nothing holding company’s attempt at doing something big. And nine months later, it’s more like a big flop — with nothing to show except for an empty office, a countdown clock and a number of posts here on AgencySpy.