Person to Watch
Andrew Leisner
Andrew Leisner, publisher of the Bonnier Motorcycle Group in Irvine, appeared on the Business Journal’s radar after a swap of six surf and skateboard publications for nine motorcycle titles from San Clemente-based TEN: Action/Outdoor Group.
The deal made Leisner’s team—a unit of Bonnier Corp., a $5 billion U.S. arm of Sweden-based Bonnier AB—one of the largest motorcycle-enthusiast media publishers in the world, with a roster of 10 digital and print titles that includes one-time competitors such as Cycle World and Motorcyclist magazines.
Call 2014 a mix for Leisner, who oversaw the recent launch of “Cycle World Cover to Cover,” a subscription-based digital archive containing more than 650 past issues of Cycle World, as well as the current one. The magazine’s content is also licensed to appear as a Web series on smart TVs through a deal with Net2TV Corp. in Redwood Shores.
Leisner’s group also launched a new digital title—UTV Driver—focusing on utility terrain vehicles. It appears in a print edition once a year. Cycle World averaged 231,422 for the six-month period that ended June, a 2% drop from the year-ago period, according to Alliance for Audited Media. Motorcyclist’s circulation dipped 3.2% to 198,776 during the same period.
Company to Watch
InnoceanUSA
The Business Journal placed InnoceanUSA on the watch list for this year as the Huntington Beach-based ad shop sought to continue to branch out beyond Hyundai Motor America Inc.’s fold and add nonautomotive accounts.
Its big break came in September—NRG Energy Inc., a Houston-based energy company with a market value of about $9.4 billion, selected Innocean as its advertising agency of record. Financial details of the account were not disclosed, but NRG said it spent $195 million on marketing in 2013.
Innocean’s other nonauto accounts include the FootJoy brand of golf shoes and New York-based yogurt manufacturer Alpina Foods.
The agency, which had an estimated $46.4 million in 2013 revenue, also helped its main client and owner, Hyundai, increase its brand value to $10.4 billion, up 16% from last year, according to Interbrand’s 2014 Best 100 Global Brands list. Innocean’s “Dad’s Sixth Sense,” placed No. 3 on Adweek’s top 10 2014 Super Bowl commercials. The Fountain Valley-based automaker spent $474 million on advertising last year.
