David Murphy, chief executive of Y & R; Companies in Irvine, strolls casually into the advertising agency’s Lincoln Mercury team room carrying a small bottle of water.
He arrives a little late for an appointment after rushing from an off-site meeting, getting updates from his assistant and fielding a call or two before putting a dent in his water.
He places his wireless phone and Palm device on a table. A little weary and still jet-lagged from a recent trip to the UK and Nepal, Murphy makes pleasant conversation with a reporter and photographer. After a few pictures, he’s off down the hall, water in hand (his Palm and phone still on the table) with his assistant and public relations coordinator walking beside him, feeding him more news and answering his questions.
If it’s Thursday, it must be Irvine for Murphy, head of Orange County’s largest ad agency with local capitalized annual billings of $555.8 million. The 40-year-old ad man is as meticulous with his schedule as he is with his attire: a tweed brown jacket, cr & #269;me crewneck top and chocolate-colored pants, shoes and socks,all in the same shade.
He’s constantly juggling business among Y & R;’s worldwide offices in Europe, Asia and Latin America (all work in their regions with the OC shop’s clients: Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln Mercury, Mattel Inc., Sony Electronics Inc. and Xerox Corp.). And Murphy has the added responsibility of finding someone to fill his previous position: president of Y & R; Advertising. The job has remained vacant since Murphy was promoted in March.
The promotion gives the OC agency’s five Y & R-owned; divisions,including The Media Edge, Landor and Y & R; Advertising,a single leader. The Irvine set-up is a testing ground for other Young & Rubicam locations.
Murphy said his new role is critical to the continued growth of the Irvine office, which has expanded rapidly since moving to OC about two years ago to serve Lincoln Mercury.
Just in the past year, the agency has boosted its business (recent wins and transfers from other Y & R; offices include Jaguar Cars, Xerox, Sony and Mattel). And the local head count now stands at about 350, prompting Y & R; to expand into a 32,000-square-foot office next to its established 53,000-square-foot digs.
The agency also recently laid off about 25 employees in its Impiric division (direct mail, interactive and event marketing), but plans to increase its head count with the Jaguar win.
Meanwhile, Murphy said he intends to continue breaking down barriers that may exist between the marketing groups.
“My new position recognizes the importance of our clients’ brands and the need to put forward a seamless, integrated marketing message,” Murphy said. “This is so critical in today’s consumer marketplace, considering all the media options now available.”
Execution is critical for Y & R; as it tries to prove itself in order to expand relationships with clients like Sony, Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., Xerox and Mattel. The agency handles just portions of these companies’ overall advertising budgets. For instance, Y & R; is helping Mattel extend its Barbie franchise with new products such as the Generation Girls and is working with Taco Bell to help increase transactions through new promotional programs with Microsoft Corp. and the upcoming “Tomb Raider” movie release, Murphy said.
Although automotive clients still comprise the bulk of the local office’s business, Murphy said he is “particularly proud” that it has been able to diversify as much as it has since coming to town.
“From an employee standpoint, it presents more opportunities and challenges,” he said.
And the battle for talent is the single biggest challenge at Y & R;, according to Murphy. The agency is trying to lure the best talent to OC, long considered a distant player to large advertising centers in New York or San Francisco.
“We win or lose based on the creativity, intelligence and passion of our people,” Murphy said, adding that having a range of blue-chip clients makes the luring a lot easier. So far, Y & R; has recruited talent from London, Chicago and New York, among other hot spots, he said.
The OC shop recently saw hard work pay off with Ford Motor Co. Y & R; recently was tapped to handle Jaguar Cars’ $125 million global advertising account, which will be handled from the agency’s Irvine and London offices.
Despite the wins, Y & R;, like other agencies, is keeping a wary eye on the economy, which has seen a softening,particularly in the automotive sector.
In a past Business Journal interview, Murphy said the agency realizes it has to be a bit more nimble and more responsive “because conditions may change at a moment’s notice.” And, despite the slowdown, Murphy had pointed out that “the absolute volume in the automotive category will still be the third-best on record.”
“In the automotive business, momentum is driven in large part by new products,” Murphy said. “Fortunately, Lincoln Mercury has a robust product pipeline.”
Y & R; is working with Mercury to launch the new Mountaineer sport utility vehicle and also will launch the Lincoln Blackwood this year. Four other new Lincoln models are slated to debut in 2002.
Meanwhile, the agency is knee-deep in promotional work for Jaguar’s new X-Type sports sedan, the automaker’s first big push into the premium compact market.
In the meantime, Murphy said he plans to continue pushing his employees to keep an open mind in their creative work for their clients. The Y & R; office, with contemporary black and cr & #269;me d & #233;cor and funky workstations, is sprinkled with mind food. Signs like “I will inspire you” hang above the copiers. There are words like “self reliance” and “individuality” clipped out from magazines in the Lincoln Mercury team rooms used for brainstorming. And, of course, inspirational quotes are painted on the walls in Murphy’s office.
His favorite: “If at first the idea is not absurd then there is no hope for it” by Albert Einstein.
“A sign of a great idea is that it seems silly at first, maybe even makes you feel a bit uncomfortable,” Murphy said. “But these are the very ideas that up end transforming entire businesses and categories.” n
