News & Views
Morgan Stanley Taps The Martin Agency as AOR
POSTED 3/03/2010
Richmond, Virginia – March 3, 2010 -- Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), today announced that it has selected The Martin Agency as its new advertising agency of record after a four-month agency review.
“We selected The Martin Agency based on three factors: first, their experience and track record in financial services, second, their understanding of our strategy, and third, their ability to execute highly creative advertising that will help define and differentiate our brand,” said Ramona Boston, managing director and chief marketing officer for Morgan Stanley.
The Martin Agency will be responsible for strategic planning and brand creative development and their first work is slated to break later this year. Marketing budgets are undisclosed.
“Morgan Stanley is one of the best financial services brand names in the world, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2010,” said Barbara Joynes, partner of The Martin Agency. “But what really excited our team is their ambition and their innovative spirit. We look forward to getting the world to take a fresh look at all the things that set Morgan Stanley apart."
About Morgan Stanley:
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 37 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
About The Martin Agency:
The Martin Agency offers unified advertising, strategic planning, media, direct response, interactive, data analytics, design and branded content. Clients include BFGoodrich, Discover Financial, Expedia, GEICO, Hanes, Microsoft, Motrin, PING, Pizza Hut, Sun Life Financial, Tylenol, the American Cancer Society, Walmart and ESPN’s X Games.
Morgan Stanley Contact: Christine Pollak, 914-225-6827
Christine.pollak@morganstanley.com
The Martin Agency Contact: Dean Jarrett, 804-698-8806
dean.jarrett@martinagency.com
McNeil Consumer Healthcare Selects The Martin Agency As Agency of Record for Tylenol and Motrin
POSTED 2/24/2010
The new agency assignment for Tylenol and Motrin made the news today. Read more about it here...
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/account-activity/e3i3d331a733bc9b824afe581eae6cf3875
The Martin Agency Hires Ian Davidson as Worldwide Account Director
POSTED 2/17/2010
Richmond, Virginia – February 17, 2010 – The Martin Agency announced today that it has formalized its association with longtime friend and colleague Ian Davidson, who has joined the agency’s management ranks as Worldwide Account Director.
“We had a long and very successful collaboration with Ian on the UPS business through most of the last decade,” said John Adams, chairman and CEO of The Martin Agency. “Now he’s instrumental in making sure we get our new Manpower relationship off to a good start. Additionally, as The Martin Agency continues to expand its international footprint, his counsel will help both our agency and our clients.”
Although he’ll spend a significant amount of time at the agency’s headquarters in Richmond and at Manpower headquarters in Milwaukee, Davidson will continue to be based in London.
Most recently, he was worldwide account director for UPS at McCann Erickson in London. The Martin Agency handled UPS’s US advertising. Davidson has also handled international accounts in the automotive, technology and beverage industries.
About The Martin Agency
The Martin Agency offers unified advertising, strategic planning, media, direct response, interactive, data analytics, design and branded content. Clients include BFGoodrich, Discover Financial, Expedia, GEICO, Hanes, Microsoft, PING, Pizza Hut, Sun Life Financial, the American Cancer Society, Walmart and ESPN’s X Games.
Mike Hughes and John Norman Co-Chair Judging for Radio Mercury Awards
POSTED 2/11/2010
Radio Mercury Awards Moves Awards to Align with Advertising Week
Mike Hughes and John Norman, Co-Chief Creative Officers from the Martin Agency to Co-Chair Final Round Judging Panel
New York, NY– February 11, 2010 -- The Radio Mercury Awards is pleased to announce that the 2010 Awards ceremony and reception will move to the Fall and take place in New York City alongside Advertising Week in September 2010. Call for Entries will open in early April.
Building on the success of a live final round judging panel and creative summit in 2009, Mike Hughes, President and Co-Chief Creative Officer from the Martin Agency as well as the newly hired Co-Chief Creative Officer John Norman will serve as this year’s Co-Chairs for the final round judging, a first in the awards’ history.
Mike Hughes has been responsible for the leadership at the Martin Agency for 28 years, and launched the agency from a regional creative shop to one of the top agencies in the U.S. His work includes such brands as Geico, Walmart and UPS. Hughes is also on the board of the highly coveted VCU Brancenter in Richmond, Virginia.
John Norman has recently taken the post as co-chief creative officer at the Martin Agency after a spending time in Amsterdam at the Wieden + Kennedy offices. He’s behind the celebrated Coca-Cola work, as well as HP and Nike just to name a few.
“John and I are really excited to meet and exceed the bar that was set so high for us from last year’s Radio Mercury Awards final round judging panel. I was proud to be apart of that group, and I look forward to co-leading this new group of judges,” said Mike Hughes, President and Co-Chief Creative Officer, The Martin Agency. “With the Radio Mercury Awards coinciding with Advertising Week we have a marvelous opportunity to celebrate Radio advertising’s best creative work during the pinnacle of the advertising industry’s one and only dedicated conference.”
“The Radio Mercury Awards’ move to Advertising Week builds on the momentum from last year’s competition where we sought to elevate Radio advertising creative and partner with the creative community to do so,” said Jeff Haley, President and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau and Chair of the Radio Creative Fund (RCF.) “We’re honored to have Mike and John lead the judging panel and build a roster of judges that will continue to recognize those that can truly encapsulate what the Radio Mercury Awards stands for, creative excellence in writing and producing Radio commercials.”
“As we continue to elevate the caliber of Advertising Week across the board, we’re thrilled to have the Radio Mercury Awards join the programming slate for 2010,” said Matt Scheckner, Advertising Week Executive Director.
The Radio Mercury Awards, the only competition exclusively devoted to radio, was established in 1992 to encourage and reward the development of effective and creative radio commercials. The annual Radio Mercury Awards competition draws entries from advertising agencies, production houses, radio stations, and educational institutions across the country. Approximately 17,000 commercials have competed for over $2.9 million in prizes. The Radio Creative Fund (RCF), a non-profit corporation funded by the radio industry, governs the Radio Mercury Awards. Last year, the $100,000 Grand Prize was awarded to The Richards Group.
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Media Contacts:
Radio Advertising Bureau
Leah Kamon
lkamon@rab.com
212-681-7219
Meghan Buonocore
mbuonocore@rab.com
212-681-7215
The Martin Agency Announces Cranin@Martin, New Strategic Partnership With Jonathan Cranin
POSTED 2/10/2010
Richmond, Virginia – February 10, 2010 – The Martin Agency announced today that it has established a new partnership with longtime agency friend and colleague Jonathan Cranin. The partnership, which will be known as Cranin@Martin, formalizes a working relationship that has been evolving for nearly a year. Jonathan Cranin will serve as creative director of Cranin@Martin, which will be located in The Martin Agency’s New York office at 71 5th Avenue. Part of the team that brought Sun Life Financial into the agency, Cranin is a member of Martin’s Sun Life ownership team. He’s also served as consultant on several recent Martin Agency projects.
“Too often these days advertising and marketing teams suffer from a loss of focus on big brand ideas. They get caught up too quickly in tactical executions,” says Mike Hughes, the president and creative director of The Martin Agency. “We’ve got a number of big idea people – but there is always room for one more. Jonathan is one of those guys. He digs deep into a brand to discover and articulate the truth that was there all along. So when you do get to the executions, everything’s smarter and sharper.
“As the former top creative executive for the industry’s largest agency network, Jonathan also adds significant heft to our international credentials,” Hughes continued. “And his experience on technology business is especially attractive to us as we add accounts in that area.”
Jonathan Cranin, who earlier served as worldwide creative director for McCann Worldgroup and helped lead the creation of the MasterCard “Priceless” and the “Army Strong” campaigns, is now offering his services as a creative director and strategist through this unusual collaboration with The Martin Agency. “Jonathan has been involved with some of the most iconic advertising campaigns in the history of the industry,” said The Martin Agency CEO John Adams. “Cranin@Martin will bring added depth to The Martin Agency and a new level of flexibility to our offerings.”
Cranin also led the development of branding campaigns for Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Intel and General Motors. More recently he served as executive creative director for the E*Trade Talking Baby work from Grey Advertising.
“This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining my friends at The Martin Agency,” said Cranin. “They’re probably the hottest agency in the country right now — and undoubtedly one of the smartest. Cranin@Martin gives me the chance to scratch my entrepreneurial itch while still having the opportunity to work on ambitious Martin Agency projects with an outstanding team of professionals.”
C@M clients can contract for Jonathan’s services either separately or as part of a larger package with Martin Agency services. The Martin Agency account leaders can add Cranin to their regular agency teams whenever appropriate.
About The Martin Agency
Headquartered in Richmond, VA, The Martin Agency is a full-service agency offering unified advertising, strategic planning, media, direct response, interactive, data analytics and branded content. Clients include BFGoodrich, Discover Financial, Expedia.com, GEICO, Hanes, Microsoft Store, PING, Pizza Hut, Sun Life Financial, the American Cancer Society, Walmart and ESPN’s X Games.