Newswires

Volvo to Brief 4 Finalists In $150 Mil. Global ReviewNEW YORK Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo this week will brief four finalists in its $150 million global creative review: Publicis' Fallon, Omnicom-backed 180, the team of Havas' Arnold and independent Nitro and the primary incumbent, Havas' Euro RSCG. Final presentations are slated for late March. The finalists emerged last week after client executives visited the U.S. and European offices of seven contenders. Cut from the review were independents M&C Saatchi and StrawberryFrog and WPP's Ogilvy & Mather. EuroRSCG handles the brand in the U.S and several overseas markets, though some pieces are handled by other shops. Volvo launched the global contest in December. New York-based consultancy Roth Associates is managing the process. Fenske Exits Wieden + Kennedy, Returns to Virginia AdcenterLOS ANGELES Creative director Mark Fenske confirmed that he is leaving independent Wieden + Kennedy to resume his teaching career at the Adcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University. At Wieden, Fenske contributed to several Coca-Cola broadcast and theatrical efforts. "I missed teaching," said Fenske, who had partnered with Hal Curtis on the Portland, Ore.-based agency's Coke account since he joined Wieden 13 months ago. He said the beverage giant's business would be "left in very good hands," but did not elaborate. An agency representative said the shop has hired a replacement to partner with Curtis, but would not disclose the creative's name.WPP Takes Small Stake In Mobile Search FirmNEW YORK WPP Group said it has taken a 2.5 percent stake in JumpTap, a two-year-old mobile search technology and advertising firm. It provides mobile search technology to wireless carriers, along with a network that matches ad messages to queries. It displays both direct-response text links and branding via banner ads. The service allows carriers like Alltel Wireless and Virgin Mobile to offer their own branded search service, rather than rely on Internet search giants such as Google and Yahoo. It is the latest in a series of bets placed on new media by WPP's digital strategy unit, which has previously invested in Internet-based agency Spot Runner, online gaming ad network WildTangent and social network builder LiveWorld.Sprint Nextel Taps 3 Finalists; Publicis & Hal Riney Is OutNEW YORK Three agencies will pitch Sprint Nextel's U.S. creative account: WPP units Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam and Omnicom's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the client confirmed last week. The finalists, as first reported on Adweek.com, emerged on Wednesday after client executives met with some half-dozen agencies. Among the shops no longer in contention is the incumbent on b-to-b ads: Publicis' Publicis & Hal Riney in San Francisco, which partnered with sister shop Saatchi & Saatchi in New York. The consumer-side incumbent, Omnicom's TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York, exited the review two weeks ago. The Reston, Va.-based client briefed remaining contenders last week, and pitches are slated for March. Ogilvy and Y&R are pitching out of their New York offices and Goodby is based in San Francisco. Sprint Nextel, which spends about $1.2 billion annually in major measured media, plans to consolidate consumer and b-to-b duties at a single shop. Total revenue on the business exceeds $40 million, said sources.Former Fallon, Wieden Creative Joins Riney as First CCOLOS ANGELES Roger Camp has joined Publicis Groupe's Publicis & Hal Riney as chief creative officer, a new post. He reports to CEO Karen Francis and works alongside Jon Soto, the agency's executive creative director. Francis said Camp, who began at the San Francisco agency Feb. 1, would oversee creative at the shop. Camp has freelanced for Riney and recently helped the shop win business from Altoids and Pinnacle Foods. He has also served as a creative director at Publicis' Fallon in Minneapolis (on Brawny and Holiday Inn) and independent Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore. "I've been consulting with them awhile," Camp said. "What attracted me is the creative potential of what Riney could be again."IPG Will Post 2006 Results At End of This MonthNEW YORK IPG in three weeks will report its financial results for full-year 2006, including the fourth quarter. IPG will issue the results on Feb. 28, before the opening of the stock market. And that morning, at 8:30, IPG CEO Michael Roth and CFO Frank Mergenthaler will discuss the numbers with industry analysts during an hour-long conference call. For the third quarter of last year, the No. 3 holding company recorded a net loss of more than $6 million, down from a net loss of $108 million in the same period of 2005. For the first three quarters of 2006, IPG sustained a net loss of $131 million, down from $255 million in the like period of 2005.Aligned Arc, Burnett Outline Roles for 'Co-Presidents' CHICAGO Publicis' Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide—which last December said they would more closely align their global operations—last week outlined executive responsibilities at the two agencies, including those of co-North American presidents Rich Stoddart and Juan Carlos Ortiz. Additionally, Arc president Marc Landsberg, who had initially indicated he would be leaving, has opted to stay. Landsberg continues as Arc's global president, as well as director of corporate strategy and development at Leo Burnett, reporting to the latter's worldwide CEO, Tom Bernardin. Stoddart will oversee the Chicago and Detroit offices of both Burnett and Arc, as well as focus on account management and current client relations. Ortiz will oversee operations in Toronto and Mexico, as well as Arc's San Francisco office and Burnett's Hispanic subsidiary, Lapiz. DraftFCB Promotes Sachs To Chief Growth OfficerCHICAGO IPG's DraftFCB said it has promoted Toby Sachs to chief global growth officer, overseeing new business efforts at the shop. A 25-year industry veteran, Sachs had been a group management director at the shop, formed last year through the union of IPG's Draft and FCB. He has recently overseen accounts such as Boeing, Dow and Sprint PCS. Sachs takes over the position from Tony Weisman, who joined the Chicago office of Digitas at the beginning of the year. Digitas, an independent, is being acquired by Publicis.Microsoft Launches Vista With $400 - $500 Mil. PushSan Francisco Microsoft's estimated $400-$500 million global marketing campaign via McCann Worldgroup to introduce the long-delayed Vista OS kicked into high gear last week. Notable elements included a series of 40 plasma screens at John F. Kennedy airport that puts travelers inside a 230-foot animated display of the operating system. Designed around the tag: "The Wow Starts Now," the bulk of the marketing integrates Vista's product features and cultural touchstones into various media, and TV ads take a supportive role, said Matt Ross, president of McCann Worldgroup, San Francisco. A trio of TV spots that broke January 29 show vignettes of historic moments, such as the Woodstock Festival, the Mercury 7 space launch and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Each ad ends with a man in an office opening his computer. A related online contest, "Show us your Wow" asks for consumer submissions.

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