53.2 F
Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Freelance Model Helps M80 Land Mattel, Avery Work

M80 Group Inc. hopes to make a bang.

The advertising shop, named after an M-80 firecracker, recently opened in Laguna Beach and is going after clients with some “anti-agency” spin.

M80 seeks to keep costs down by tapping freelancers to help on projects, cofounder Neil McQueen said.

“This allows us to dial in the most ideal and specialized team for each project,” he said.

The shop has nine workers and plans to add people “as client demands dictate,” said McQueen, former executive creative director at Shafer Advertising in Irvine.

But M80 wants to stay pretty lean, he said.

The senior creative and marketing people that pitch and land accounts are “the ones actually doing” the work, McQueen said.

“We don’t disappear after the pitch,” he said.

M80 is borrowing a page from other Orange County shops, including Laguna Beach-based public relations firm Gladstone International, which scrapped the big office and staff for a leaner approach.

“Being in the middle of recent changes in the advertising world, we know that clients are demanding two main things: more innovative thinking with approaches to their challenges and a more efficient way of working,” McQueen said.

M80 recently caught the attention of El Segundo-based Mattel Inc. and Pasadena’s Avery Dennison Corp. M80’s work for Mattel includes several brands, such as Barbie, Hot Wheels and Batman. For Avery, the shop plans to handle projects for its office products division.


Medical Marketing Deal

LehmanMillet Inc. plans to make a push here.

The Boston-based medical marketing shop recently bought smaller Newport Beach-based Blvdwest, which now goes by LehmanMillet West. Terms weren’t disclosed.

The two had worked together for about a year to make sure it “was the best move for everyone,” said Bruce Lehman, president of LehmanMillet.

The 26-year-old company had its eye on opening a West Coast office to serve clients on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Clients include Bausch & Lomb Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Inc.

“We found Blvdwest to be extremely well matched to our approach in terms of their strategic focus and strong creative,” Lehman said in a statement. “We’ve seen tremendous support from existing clients, as well as clients who are interested in what the new Lehman Millet has to offer.”

There’s been no change in workers at the Irvine office. Tim Friday, Blvdwest’s former president, now is senior vice president reporting to Lehman.

The OC shop has about 15 workers with plans to grow.


It Came From the ’70s

Newport Beach-based Estey-Hoover Advertising and Public Relations just turned 30 years old.

And it’s showing its age.

“Looking back, it seems like we have come out of the Stone Age in terms of the tools we used in the early ’70s compared to today,” President Dan Hoover said.

Back then, it was all about type houses, flipcharts and typewriters that didn’t self correct.

In the 1970s and ’80s, Estey-Hoover also watched a number of bigwig advertising shops from the East and elsewhere stake a claim in OC.

“Several major international agencies took an early shot at establishing a presence in the county, including Bozell & Jacobs and Wells, Rich & Green,” Hoover said. “But they really didn’t fit the more casual, entrepreneurial structure of Orange County businesses, which were not ready for Madison Avenue type agencies.”

Today, with OC’s technology and automotive companies, “a few major agencies have been able to find a home and prosper,” Hoover said.

Among them: Young & Rubicam Brands in Irvine and Doner in Newport Beach, which both landed automotive accounts. Doner handles Mazda North America Operations in Irvine. Y & R; has Land Rover North America in Irvine.

But it hasn’t been a slam-dunk. Bates USA West packed up and left Irvine a few years back when it lost its biggest client, Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. And Y & R; recently lost Jaguar Cars, part of Irvine-based Premier Automotive Group.

Still, OC has come a long way, according to Hoover.

It’s no longer a “creative infant” compared to New York and Los Angeles, he said.

“We see continued growth in the consumer and durable goods sectors,” Hoover said. “The opportunities for a well-rounded agency that works on the complete marketing program for a client is endless.”

But it takes tactics.

Estey-Hoover weathered several economic downturns by being “lean, debt free” and saving “money for the tough times.”

“From our early years, Estey-Hoover built reserves that would be capable of sustaining us at our current overhead level for one and a half years with any income,” Hoover said. “Unlike most overextended businesses, this cushion has enabled us to work through each economic downturn without major impacts on the agency.”

The shop currently has 23 workers and taps a pool of freelancers.

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-