We Hear: Layoffs at Lowe Campbell Ewald

By Patrick Coffee 

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Today we hear from multiple sources that staffing cuts occurred this week at Detroit’s Lowe Campbell Ewald.

The last few months have witnessed several big changes for the agency: in September, news broke that Hill Holliday had lost the Cadillac account, that IPG would be folding its Rogue unit, and that LCE would handle creative for the client moving forward. After that shakeup, Managing Director Kevin Wertz assumed the role of president reporting to CEO Jim Palmer in a move that also saw the departure of longtime COO Kathleen Donald and the promotion of several other executives.

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The client, however, surprised many in the industry one month ago, confirming rumors that it had been “quietly talking to other agencies” by choosing Publicis Worldwide as its AOR.

Lowe Campbell Ewald has not responded to multiple requests for comment, but more than one source lists the total number of employees who are no longer with the agency as of this afternoon at 30; another source claims that this group includes Group Digital Creative Director Iain Lanivich of 2013’s “We’re moving to Detroit and so should you” video. Since the agency employs approximately 500, these numbers would amount to less than ten percent of its total workforce.

Updates as we receive them.

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