Agency news you need to know this week

Agency perks With inflation circling the industry and agency culture taking some knocks, two agencies are stepping up with new employee programs. VMLY&R, which has 13,000 employees, launched a program across its global network in which employees are able to spend a week in another office on an all-expenses-paid trip. Staffers will also be treated to activities both inside and outside the office—such as dinners with colleagues and visiting local sites. Ad Age Next: CMO Get your tickets for the Dec. 7 event in New York Register here There are 30 participating cities across the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Asia. The program currently has 800 applicants, with London being the most desired place to visit, according to a spokeswoman for the agency. Earlier this year Publicis also launched a work-from-anywhere program. Gale, meanwhile, is giving employees some financial relief amid inflation. The Stagwell agency, which has 650 employees, is offering a monthly inflation stipend for employees that earn less than $150,000 annually. U.S.-based employees will receive $600, Canadian-based employees will receive $800 in Canadian dollars and staff in India will receive 12,000 rupees, or the equivalent of around $150 as of publication. “Inflation has become a very real problem for our people with the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and war in Ukraine exacerbating price pressures,” Gale CEO Brad Simms said in a statement. “This financial pressure, paired with countless headlines emerging detailing layoffs and cutbacks, is creating additional anxiety. As this noise continues, we wanted to do the opposite of the industry and show up for our people in a way that reflects our core values.” EP+Co pays tribute to bodega owners Agency EP+Co has released a series of three films to say "thank you" to New York’s bodegas. The films, launched on Oct. 11, tell the story of a specific bodega and its owner. It was an internal project. “‘Bodega love’ is strong in New York but it’s not top of mind for most people outside of the city,” said the agency’s Chief Creative Officer John Cornette in a statement. “If bodegas went away, there would be a tremendous impact on the fabric of the city’s culture. We wanted to point out just how significant they, and the people who run them are.” Hockey campaigns take the ice Agencies seem to be following the puck. MassMutual launched a campaign from Grey titled “Baby Skates,” which features Tampa Bay Lightning star duo Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. The humorous spot, which was made in partnership with the NHL and NHL Player’s Association, shows Stamkos pressuring Hedman to start thinking about getting his child into youth sports early, otherwise, he needs to think about how he is going to pay for college. Sports website the Bleacher Report launched a new campaign from Mojo Supermarket promoting its hockey coverage. The campaign, which includes out-of-home, digital, and a TV spot, focuses on all the ways people are like hockey players. “Hockey is a loud, unapologetic, unpredictable, and intense game. It has an element of excess and extra to it that young people today feel is missing in their entertainment and everyday lives,” Nitin Dua, strategy director at Mojo Supermarket said in a statement. “We have built a marketing platform that will make the excess of hockey the antidote to a perceived bland, boring culture.” The Martin Agency says it exceeds diversity goal The Martin Agency said it has exceeded its goal of increasing diversity behind the camera by awarding 65% of its video content work to people from underrepresented demographics. This comes after the agency set the goal to hire 50% of people to do video content work from underrepresented groups at the start of the year. The figure jumps to 85% when editor hires are taken into account. As part of the initiative, Martin tapped director Lisa Gunning and editor Paul Martinez from Arcade Edit for DoorDash's “A Neighborhood of Good in Every Order” campaign. “We don’t want to be satisfied celebrating progress on screen while ignoring the glacially slow improvement in equity off-screen,” said Tasha Dean, The Martin Agency’s executive VP and head of production. WPP opens Toronto campus WPP opened its newest campus in Toronto on Oct. 12 after recently creating campuses in Detroit, Milan, London and Prague. The initiative aims to provide a base for the 2,000 people employed by the holding company’s local agencies, and allow for “teams to come together to collaborate on extraordinary work for clients,” said WPP Country Manager for Canada Arthur Fleischmann in a statement. WPP agencies include but aren’t limited to Ogilvy, Wunderman Thompson, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Grey, TAXI, Hogarth Worldwide, Landor & Fitch as well as GroupM and it's subsidiary agencies. Just briefly DDB Chicago has appointed head of business Sandra Alfaro as its president. Current CEO Andrea Diquez is leaving to pursue an undisclosed opportunity. The CEO post has not yet been filled. Glanbia Performance Nutrition, which owns SlimFast, Optimum Nutrition and Think has appointed Horizon Media as its U.S. media agency of record. Following a review, Pearl, a San Antonio district, has selected Austin-based agency Bakery as its agency of record. Bakery’s main focus will be working with Pearl on building its brand communications, storytelling, and programming to promote the neigborhood as a sustainable area within the city. Bakery will run all creative and use its new Ken Media arm to run media planning and buying. Droga5 London has appointed Stephanie McArdle as its head of design at Droga5 London. She replaces Chris Chapman, who left the agency earlier this month, according to a statement by Droga5. Kelly-Moss Road and Race, a Porsche GT Racing and custom-build auto shop company, has appointed Planet Propaganda as its first brand strategy and creative partner. Anchor Worldwide has hired Will Ramos as its strategy director, a newly created position. Ramos’ previous role was social strategy director at Gut. George P. Johnson has opened an office in Dubai, which is its first office in the Middle East. See all of Ad Age's 2023 Agency A-List winners here

Agency news you need to know this week

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