Taking its cue from sister agency McCann-Erickson, direct marketing shop MRM Gould has added 13 staffers and nearly doubled its billings in the past year, in part due to an ex panded relationship with tech giant Microsoft.
San Francisco’s MRM Gould, which specializes in direct marketing and Internet adver tising, was named West Coast hub for MRM Partners last December. MRM Partners, based in New York, is a division of McCann-Erickson Worldgroup.
Since then, MRM Gould has won direct marketing and online assignments for Microsoft’s U.S. small-business division and will work with other McCann San Francisco clients, including Applied Materials. It will also help design online ads for Microsoft’s enterprise and MSN divisions.
“We’ve experienced this level of growth before, but it’s still an amazing challenge,” said MRM Gould president and CEO Michael Gould. “Fortunately, we’re finding extremely talented people to join the team.”
The shop will also assist McCann’s Los Angeles office with such accounts as Honeywell Aerospace, JT International and Veterinary Centers of America. The new-business wins have boosted MRM Gould’s billings from $30 million last year to $60 million now, sources said.
“They’re able to provide services we haven’t offered before,” said Michael McLaren, evp and client services director for McCann San Francisco. “The way we are positioning ourselves together allows us to present a common face for Microsoft. It’s a huge advantage for us and our clients to be able to offer expanded service.”
Among those joining MRM Gould are Mary Kerford, who was named vp and director of client services. Most recently she served as vp of WireWorks West and was previously at the former Cohn & Wells in San Francisco.
Also new at the shop is Joe Dessi, who was named vp and senior account director on Microsoft. Dessi was most recently vp/client services director at Mediaplex and also worked as director of the technology marketing group at Devon Direct Euro RSCG in Berwyn, Pa.
The creative department has also been restructured. Mark Edwards has been promoted to vp and group creative director, and Burr Purnell was promoted to creative director.
MRM Partners has 63 offices in 37 countries and worldwide billings of more than $1 billion. The agency is owned by the Interpublic Group.
MRM Gould in Expansion Mode
