Young & Rubicam Brands in Irvine continues to add people after winning work earlier this year.
The advertising shop recently brought on Robert Morris as vice president/director of digital, a new position.
Y & R; is looking to grow its digital advertising work with Morris overseeing the push. The shop said it already does interactive work for 90% of its clients.
Morris most recently was a team leader at aQuantiv Inc.’s Razorfish after spending time at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Shimano Inc.
Morris’ appointment comes on the heels of Y & R; hiring a senior vice president and creative director, Miles Turpin.
The shop has been going after business. Earlier this year, it won three accounts: BabyFirst TV, a new TV channel from News Corp.’s Regency Entertainment, Portland, Ore.-based Knowledge Learning Corp. and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Brower, Miller work: clients upping spending |
Retail Up at Brower, Miller
Restaurants and retail have been hot and cold lately.
But Irvine-based Brower, Miller & Cole said clients still are bullish with marketing plans.
Judith Brower Fancher, the shop’s president, said several clients increased budgets “up to 50%” in the past year in the restaurant, retail, finance, real estate and entertainment sectors.
The clients upped spending once they saw how “our work increased their bottom line,” Fancher said.
“When we can provide powerful (return on investment) on marketing dollars spent, we earn the right to invest more time on behalf of our clients,” she said.
Brower, Miller & Cole, which has nine people, made changes to bring in business, including adding more services such as art, media planning, media buying and Internet work, according to Fancher.
Clients these days want shops to handle their entire branding campaigns, not just one aspect, she said.
Brower, Miller & Cole’s clients include Upland-based Lewis Group of Cos.’ retail arm and Inlet Square, a shopping center in Myrtle Beach.
Changes at Pond, er, Honda Center
The Honda Center in Anaheim, formerly the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, is wrapping up changes it made to woo hockey fans.
People who came for the Anaheim Ducks season opener on Oct. 6 saw 35 more Mitsubishi flat-screen TVs, a remodeled Ducks team store, a giant marquee near the Orange (57) Freeway, new kids’ menus and cash registers designed to cut waits.
Tim Ryan, chief executive of Anaheim Arena Management LLC, which manages the Honda Center, said the changes are part of the owners’ “long-term commitment to the fans and community.”
Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli, who owns Anaheim Arena and the Ducks, has spent the past year hiring people and revamping the center.
Other changes to come: giant video boards above the goals, video screens for replays and a new sound system.
Al Punto Hiring
Tustin-based Hispanic ad shop al Punto is hunting for a senior staffer after picking up some business last year.
Peggy Goff, president and director of strategic services, said the shop is looking to hire a senior account manager to help with Los Angeles-based Clougherty Packing LLC and its Farmer John Meats brand, an account the shop landed in 2005.
Al Punto may also “bring on additional people” soon as it expects to land new work, Goff said. She declined to give more details.
“Watch for that press release,” she said.
Century of Newport
The Orange County Register’s OCR Magazines released a new book for the city of Newport Beach.
The 100-page publication, “Newport Beach Centennial: Celebrating a Century,” includes pictures from the Register and other sources, said Chris Schulz, publisher of OCR Magazines, a unit of Freedom Orange County Information, which also publishes the Register and is owned by Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc.
The book is sold at Newport Beach City Hall, Central Library and other locations.
In other news, the Register just re-launched an online car Web site, www.OCCar-Finder.com.
The site was revamped to make searches for new and used cars easier, and get other information, such as directions and gas prices.
Playing up advertisers also was a big push.
OCCarFinder.com now has larger banners, text ads and other things to increase exposure for online advertisers, according to the Register.
Features were added to make it easier for users to request price quotes, which will drive more leads to auto dealers advertising on the site, the Register said.
Bits and Pieces:
The Creative Lab just moved to bigger space in Lake Forest. The 10,000-square-foot office has plenty of room to grow, said Tony Serna, vice president of creative KComm Inc. in San Clemente just picked up public affairs work for T-Mobile and launched its own new Web site.
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