Tustin-based al Punto Advertising is growing.
The Hispanic ad agency added 10 employees last year and is on the hunt for more as it battles for more work, according to Eduardo Bottger, president and creative director.
“We have seven new business leads, which is unheard of for this time of year,” he said.
Al Punto is getting more bites from companies that want the shop to handle English-language marketing as well, Bottger said.
Last year, al Punto picked up Spanish and English work from Minnesota’s Lifetouch Inc. and San Bernardino-based Inland Empire Health Plan, he said.
The shop is part of “the new generation of agencies” that can handle both, according to Bottger.
“We live in both worlds and we understand both cultures,” he said. ” I do think that’s going to be a trend. It’s going to be the future of agencies like ours.”
Al Punto tries to keep its staff balanced with workers familiar with Hispanic and English-language campaigns, Bottger said.
The shop is looking for five more people,two for media and three for account services. It’s also set to add a general creative director next month.
Al Punto recently expanded its offices in Argentina, which has seven workers, and Peru, which is staffed with two.
The shop opened the South American offices last year to help clients with marketing there, Bottger said.
Al Punto, which counts 47 local workers, also has brought in more work by starting a division called Red Wire, he said. The unit handles direct response, promotions and interactive.
“We’re very excited about what this year could look like,” Bottger said.
Juxt’s Web Work
Last week, I gave a glimpse on some of the work that Newport Beach-based Juxt Interactive is cranking out.
Since, the shop, which does Web sites and other online projects, filled me in on more details.
Juxt is “hard at work” on two online marketing campaigns for Coca-Cola Co., principal Josh Mooney said.
One is a banner campaign focusing on “March Madness.” The other is an online marketing launch for Cherry Coke, work the agency won late last year, Mooney said.
Juxt continues to ramp up assignments with current clients, including El Segundo-based Mattel Inc., which recently handed the shop two online marketing projects, Mooney said.
Plus, Juxt is working with two advertising agencies,GSD & M; in Austin, Texas, and BBH in New York,on other assignments for BMW and Unilever’s Vaseline.
To help with the projects, Juxt has been hunting around for more staff.
Recently, the shop hired two project managers and an account director, Mooney said.
There’s more to come.
Juxt still is looking for more art directors and expects to hire about eight workers by the end of the year. It now has 32 employees.
“We’re very bullish on 2007 as more and more traditional ad budgets shift to the Web,” Mooney said.
Pepsi Challenge
Huntington Beach-based pizza chain Whata Lotta Pizza hooked up with PepsiCo Inc. for drinks and marketing.
The company said Pepsi will sell its sodas and more at pizzerias and help plug restaurants through radio promotions.
Dan Brown, Whata Lotta’s chief executive, said the partnership should help “establish” the company’s brand.
Whata Lotta has 14 restaurants, including in Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.
Most recently, the company opened a franchise restaurant in La Puente. It’s also set to open 15 to 25 more restaurants this year, including more franchises in Long Beach and Placentia.
Whata Lotta previously had Coca-Cola as its soft drink supplier for 17 years.
“Pepsi offered us a very good deal and we took the deal,” spokesman Matt Liffreing said. “Pepsi saw our growth potential and decided to act now.”
The agreement also comes with “marketing support to assist our stores now and well into the future,” Liffreing said.
Pepsi has started to install refrigerators at Whata Lotta Pizza locations, which are giving away 2-liters of Pepsi with purchases.
The soft drink maker is helping plug the restaurant chain with radio promotions on KIIS-FM, Power 106 and KGGI.
“They’ll be at all of our grand openings in the future,” Liffreing said.
Whata Lotta Pizza said it also hired a marketing guru, David Korobkin.
Bellantonio will be out for the next month on maternity leave. Tiffany Montgomery, a Business Journal freelancer and former Orange County Register reporter and editor, will be filling in.
