DGWB Triumphs in Adlink Pitch

Just days after its president and CEO resigned, digital cable interconnect Adlink has hired DGWB as its advertising agency, the company said last week. Adlink svp of marketing and communications Vicki Lins said Charles Thurston's exit Feb. 1 will not affect the decision to work with DGWB. Thurston, who will join Comcast Cable Communications as president of ad sales in March, was not involved in the six-month agency search, Lins said. A succession plan at Adlink has not yet been set. DGWB in Santa Ana, Calif., won the account following a review that included five undisclosed finalists. Billings are estimated at less than $1 million. Work will include creative, media, design, collateral, direct mail and online efforts. Adlink previously worked with branding and design firm Vigon/Ellis in Studio City, Calif., for four years. "Our needs outgrew them, and we were looking to bring on an agency to meet all our marketing communications needs," said Lins. "We were looking for cutting-edge creative, exceptional account service and account management and an agency that was as interested in establishing a partnership as we were." DGWB principal Jon Gothold said the 80-person shop was attracted by the chance to work with people who are "super-nice and super-cool." Since Adlink's audience is the ad world, he added, "it's a great opportunity to do something our peers will see. ... If we can sell to ad people, we've really done something." One of DGWB's first tasks is to evaluate the Adlink brand, Lins said. The shop will also work to raise awareness of Targeted TV, a service Adlink established in 1998 as a means of buying spot TV in Los Angeles. "People don't really understand precisely what they do," said Gothold, citing Adlink services such as Adcopy, which allows for alternate spots within a single commercial unit, and Adtag, which enables advertisers to add different taglines. A break date for the first ads has not been determined. Lin said the tagline will likely remain, "It's Targeted TV." The win comes as another DGWB client, Toshiba Computer Systems Group, has put its creative and media account in review. DGWB was not invited to defend. Billings are pegged at $20-30 million, but spending has been a fraction of that—a dip the client attributes to a general drop in computer hardware sales. DGWB still works with Toshiba's electronics imaging department. Its other clients include KFC (regional business) and Wienerschnitzel.

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DGWB Triumphs in Adlink Pitch

Rebecca Flass

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Rebecca Flass