JCPenney Returns to Lead Agency Model

Young & Rubicam takes on struggling brand

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So much for JCPenney’s multiple creative agency offense.

Seventeen months after sprinkling its business among several shops, the struggling retailer has reverted to a more classic lead agency model with the hiring of WPP Group’s Young & Rubicam in New York. The move is return to Penney’s past practice.

Before hiring Peterson Milla Hooks and Mother in late 2011, Saatchi & Saatchi was the lead horse, and before that, DDB. Now, Y&R takes the reins as the retailer looks to rebound from a disastrous 2012.

The company recently replaced short-lived CEO Ron Johnson with a familiar face, former CEO Mike Ullman.

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