Agency news you need to know this week

Doe-Anderson helps LG&E explain gas safety Many customers understand they should leave an area if they suspect a gas leak, but not everyone recognizes all the warning signs. Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co. tapped Doe-Anderson to build a campaign to educate people on the red flags, including rotten egg smell, dying vegetation, hissing sounds and bubbling water. The agency enlisted talent from the Louisville area to sing about the warning signs over playful animated spots, which will run on TV, digital and radio. “Music has been a proven tool for helping people remember facts and information. So, we decided to let the objects that are signs of a gas leak sing our message,” said Britt Riley, VP, creative director at Doe-Anderson, in a statement. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here Client shifts soften holding company results Interpublic Group of Cos. on Wednesday reported first-quarter organic revenue growth of 1.3%. CEO Philippe Krakowsky said on the company’s earnings call that he expects full-year organic growth of 1% to 2%, bogged down by a change in an ongoing client relationship. While Krakowsky didn’t explicitly name the client, it is believed he was referring to Pfizer, which recently moved the majority of its creative brand duties from IPG to Publicis Groupe nearly a year after the pharmaceutical giant set up a new agency roster. IPG Health retained some medical-focused work and IPG-owned Weber Shandwick retained PR. “A recent decision by an important ongoing client will adversely impact the balance of this year and likely make achieving the top end of our target more challenging,” said Krakowsky. IPG rival WPP, meanwhile, posted a 1.6% decline in first-quarter revenue on Thursday. In its analyst presentation, WPP said the loss of Pfizer creative duties impacted the performance of its integrated creative agencies. Applegate hires new AOR Hormel Foods’ Applegate has appointed BarkleyOKRP as its agency of record, marking the first significant account win for the agency since it formed through the merger of Barkley and OKRP in early March. It also marks an expansion in the agency’s relationship with Hormel Foods, as Barkley has led creative and strategic duties for its Justin’s brand since 2019. BarkleyOKRP’s first campaign for the meat brand will debut this summer. Jason Parks, the agency’s chief growth officer, in a statement called Applegate “an ideal client for us,” citing the brand’s values and operational practices. It wasn’t clear which agency formerly held the account. Hormel Foods declined to comment. Known’s own hot sauce Coming off its A-List win this year, Known was gifted 15 free minutes of advertising space in Times Square by its close partner Clear Channel. The agency used the airtime on Wednesday to debut Known Sauce, its very own hot sauce. The agency started making the sauce last year, but now it will be available on its own e-commerce site: www.knownsauce.com. The creative—made with help from AI—touts Known’s successes in recent years. Stagwell announces Sport Beach roster Stagwell has unveiled the roster of athletes attending Sport Beach 2024 (June 17-20), the holding company’s flagship event at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Athletes such as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, former Brazilian soccer player Roberto Carlos, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, former NFL wide receiver Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson and seven-time World Champion skier, philanthropist and businesswoman Mikaela Shiffrin will participate in programming and appearances. Read more about Sport Beach and other Cannes Lions activations Clean Creatives marks Earth Day with significant milestone Environmental activist group Clean Creatives announced on Earth Day (April 22) that 1,000 agencies worldwide have signed its pledge to refuse work from the fossil fuel industry. The group said recent signatories include Mother New York and Lucky Generals. To celebrate the milestone, Clean Creatives created a satirical video calling on ad execs to ditch old ideas and embrace being “the good guys” in the fight against climate change. “The Clean Creatives pledge has galvanized a global community of agencies committed to serious climate action, and they are seeing countless benefits in employee engagement, positioning for clients and alignment for purpose,” said Duncan Meisel, executive director at Clean Creatives, in a statement. Just Briefly BBDO New York has hired Emily Portnoy as chief strategy officer. She will join the agency in May and replace Nicole Granese, who is taking the same role at AT&T. Portnoy will report to Nancy Reyes, CEO of the Americas at BBDO. BMB has named Laurent Simon as chief creative officer, succeeding Matt Lever, who left the London-based creative agency at the end of last year. Simon will oversee BMB’s full portfolio of clients, including Samsung, Rana, Farrow & Ball, Kerry Dairy, Freenow, Bonne Maman, Breast Cancer Now and The Lawn Tennis Association. Two veteran producers, Jennifer Sofio Hall and Bedonna Smith, have teamed up to open Industry Standard, a talent accelerator designed to develop career opportunities for early- to mid-career professionals. Industry Standard’s first initiative is Experience, a nine-month paid program placing post-production participants in various entertainment fields. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here Global creative company Buck has appointed Emily Rickard as CEO. Rickard replaces Jeff Ellermeyer, who is shifting his focus to CEO of Residence, the network that houses Buck. In her former role as president, Rickard helped Buck open new offices in Amsterdam and London, win its second Emmy and launch its first video game, Let’s! Revolution! City Furniture has hired Alma as its lead strategic and creative agency following a competitive pitch. The furniture chain, which operates in Florida, has enlisted Alma to develop its new brand platform set to debut in June. City Furniture has not had an external advertising agency for 10 years. Denise Orman and Diego Gueler Montero, former CEO of Grey Argentina and former chief creative officer of draftLine Buenos Aires, respectively, have teamed up to form independent creative agency Zurda, which will open with 40 employees. Public relations agency Mark Allen & Co. has promoted Jason Fink to the new role of executive VP. Fink, who was formerly senior VP, will now oversee editorial operations. Apparel company Psycho Bunny has named New York-based Astronomie as its media agency of record after a competitive review. It was not clear who the incumbent agency was. Psycho Bunny declined to comment. The Madmen Bowling League is returning on May 8 in New York. The league, led by licensing agency Catch+Release, brings together marketing, technology and creative professionals. Companies participating in the league include BBDO Worldwide, Media.Monks, TikTok and Meta.

Agency news you need to know this week

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