Holland Mark Clients Move

BOSTON–Bob Minihan, creative director and a partner in recently shuttered Holland Mark, Boston, is among at least a dozen employees moving to crosstown shop Partners & Simons.

Minihan will take the title of co-creative director also held by agency founder and president Tom Simons, according to P&S executives. Minihan could not immediately be reached for comment. Holland Mark svp/brand director Pat D’Amico is also making the move, sources said.

Partners & Simons, an independent agency with billings estimated at $70-80 million, is close to finalizing agreements to handle the accounts of most key Holland Mark clients.

Already signed up are Yankee Candle, Teradyne, Veryfine and technology company Ipswitch Inc., according to P&S executives. Other accounts, including Dreyfus and Earth Footwear, are still in talks with P&S but could follow by the end of the week, sources said. The Boston Globe will not be making the move but does not intend immediately to review or re-assign its business, said a representative for the New York Times-owned newspaper.

All told, P&S expects to add about $50 million in annual billings from Holland Mark clients, likely making the shop New England’s largest independent agency, P&S executives said.

The agencies have been talking for at least a week about the transition, with Holland Mark managers recommending P&S to clients, sources said.

Plagued by an inability to collect fees from clients including Polaroid, which recently filed for bankruptcy, and a drought of new business, Holland Mark ceased operations Monday and dismissed about 50 employees. It claimed billings of $200 million last year, making it the largest independent New England agency. A customer-relationship and database marketing subsidiary called BeNow, Wakefield, Mass., remains in operation with 60 employees.