Toshiba Computer Unit Puts Notebook Account Up for Grabs
L.A. Relations Firms Opens Irvine Office; Robbins Bros. Puts Ring on Surf City’s Finger
Marketing & Media by Jennifer Bellantonio
Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc.’s computer notebook division is on the hunt for a new ad shop for its $20 million to $30 million creative and media work after cutting ties with Santa Ana-based DGWB.
Toshiba is talking with undisclosed shops and expects to have one in place by late January, said Howard Emerson, vice president of marketing communications for Toshiba’s computer systems group.
DGWB held the account for the past two years. The new ad shop won’t necessarily be from Toshiba’s backyard, Emerson said.
“Geography isn’t a big consideration given the access to information that we have these days,” he said.
The Toshiba division, which has been restructuring to deal with the computer slowdown, slashed its ad spending by an undisclosed sum earlier this year, according to Emerson.
The unit also has put in place a new management team, which is developing new strategies, according to Emerson.
Toshiba intends to bring spending back to the $20 million to $30 million range to support the launch of new products, Emerson said.
“It’s not a guaranteed figure but it’s accurate in terms of our historical run rate,” Emerson said.
The review didn’t come as a total surprise to DGWB, as the Toshiba team that originally hired the ad shop had left, according to Jon Gothold, agency partner.
“It was kind of inevitable, if you will,” he said. “(The computer systems division) really had a tough time this past year, and, consequently, so have we. It’s kind of been like the incredible shrinking account. It’s gotten cut and chopped.”
Gothold said he estimated that the division spent about $15 million on advertising in 2001.
In December, the Toshiba unit stopped advertising altogether, according to Gothold.
“They’ve told us they plan on going into the first quarter of 2002 dark,” he said.
As a result of the loss, DGWB laid off 12 people that worked directly on the account and reassigned some others, Gothold said.
“The fact that it’s been gradually dwindling has helped us. We’ve been able to minimize layoffs,” he said.
DGWB continues to handle Toshiba’s electronics imaging department, which, according to Gothold, “is going well.”
IR Firm Opens Irvine Office
Orange County has gotten a bite from another Los Angeles player.
Foley/Freisleben LLC, an investor and corporate relations firm, recently opened a satellite office in Irvine at 3333 Michelson Drive.
The new office reflects a “strategic focus on expansion,” according to Gerald Freisleben, the firm’s president.
Foley/Freisleben counts Santa Ana-based Calavo Growers of California, an avocado cooperative, as a client. But Freisleben said the firm hopes to reach out to the area’s technology companies, including wireless, semiconductor and broadband businesses.
For now, Freisleben and John Foley, the firm’s chairman, plan to split their time overseeing the satellite office until a managing director is named. That hunt is on. The office employs two people.
With This Ring
Huntington Beach-based Surf City Advertising Co. has landed a gem account.
The startup said it beat out four undisclosed shops to win creative work from Los Angeles-based Robbins Bros., which operates seven engagement ring shops, including stores in Mission Viejo and Fullerton.
Robbins Bros. has been doing radio ads for some time, according to Surf City founder Chris Epting. Now the company plans to launch outdoor and print ads. There are no immediate plans for TV, he said.
“They’ve been growing and just needed more resources,” Epting said. “They’re fun and aggressive. They’re just what you want (in a client.)”
On the Robbins Bros. Web site, the company says it intends to increase radio advertising in order to spur traffic to its stores. Robbins Bros. also said it plans to develop new “appealing ads” for bridal magazines.
In other business, Surf City said it is doing pro bono work for a new independent film festival that’s set to come to Huntington Beach this summer.
No Free Lunch, But $10 Off
The Marketing Integrators was tapped by Long Beach-based El Torito Restaurants Inc. to design and track the results of its first online promotion.
The Huntington Beach-based marketing agency created a Web site, www.eltorito. com/signup, where customers could download a $10 certificate off any meal costing $25 or more during December. The certificate was good at El Torito, El Torito Grill, Hola Amigos, GuadalaHarry’s and Who-Song & Larry’s restaurants. A portion of the proceeds are set to be donated to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Paulette Wilhelmy, who founded Marketing Integrators in June, said that companies want results from online marketing.
“Accountability certainly plays well in this economy,” she said.
Pitching the Drive Market
Lake Forest-based Creative Lab beat out 14 other Southland agencies to win a chunk of work from the Anaheim/OC Visitor & Convention Bureau. The agency is set to do branding work for the Anaheim Resort, a 2.2-square-mile area near the Anaheim Convention Center that includes the Disneyland Resort, restaurants and other attractions.
David Agrela, director of client strategies at the Creative Lab, said the agency was asked by the bureau to create a campaign targeting the drive market since air travel is off since Sept. 11.
“We’ve just put the finishing touches on it,” Agrela said
Newspaper ads are set to run in San Diego, Los Angeles and up the coast, he said. The theme: “Objects in Orange County are closer than they appear.”
Creative Lab also is doing marketing geared toward the business/convention world. Ads have broken in trade pubs.
