Direct Needs Lead GN&P To Solomon

When a client asked Gardner Nelson & Partners for direct-response ads in January, co-founder Steve Gardner began looking for an exec who was “bilingual” in direct and brand-building. He soon found one in an old colleague from Ammirati Puris Lintas: Robert Solomon.

The 53-year-old exec, who in the late 1990s was president of direct and interactive marketing at APL, began working on a consulting basis with GN&P shortly after taking Gardner’s call. Recently, he joined full-time to work at newly launched direct unit Gardner Nelson Solomon.

As managing partner at the one-man operation, Solomon oversees a network of freelance art directors and copywriters that will handle direct work for the New York independent’s clients; the unit also will pitch in on new business and chase accounts on its own, Gardner said.

“It’s unusual to have somebody who is bilingual—able to converse and engage on brand-building initiatives and direct marketing,” said Gardner, who worked...