Advertising Industry Archive

Aegis used its 2008 full year results to send a number of messages yesterday, some more confusing than others. Let’s start with the financials: Aegis reported revenues for 2008 were up 21 percent to £1.3 billion; net income was down 4 percent to £89.2 billion (not adjusting for currency). The company also said it will lay off 5 percent of its staff, or 780 people, across 40 countries....

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Alloy Marketing & Media held the top spot as the publicly traded advertising company that operates most productively, according to an analysis of financials by BNET. Alloy saw flat revenues in Q4 on higher operating expenses, demonstrating that owning the media you offer creative for (as Alloy does) will not make you immune to the economy. The least efficient group was ValueClick, which...

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Since News America Marketing Group bought Floorgraphics Inc. in what appeared to be a legal settlement of the corporate spying and sabotage litigation between them, the stock of two other direct marketing companies, Valassis and Insignia Systems, has gone through the roof. Valassis, which has a much larger case pending against News America, went from just above $1 to $1.70 (see graph) —...

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The AIG bonuses scandal has an advertising side (of course): AIG will give $28 million to Manchester United, the world’s richest football club, to complete its sponsorship deal through 2010, according to CityFile. The AIG logo has appeared on the front of Man U’s shirts since a $100 million deal was struck in 2006. Until recently, this has paid off for both AIG and Manchester...

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Most people in advertising know George Parker as the cantankerous author of the blog Adscam. Every day, Adscam brings forth another curse-laden Parker post about the state of Big Dumb Agencies, Martin “the Poisoned Dwarf” Sorrell, and an ongoing hit-list of “douchenozzles” whom Parker has decided are charlatans or confidence men. Before the blog, however, was a 35-year...

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Valassis CEO Alan Schultz had an awful 2008: Sure, revenues went up 6.2 percent but the company lost $207 million overall, NYSE threatened to delist the company (it’s trading just above the penny-stock range), and the high-stakes litigation against rival News America Marketing Group has decimated the company’s profits. He also had to lay off hundreds of his employees. Despite all...

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Wall Street no longer believes WPP’s Martin Sorrell. That seems to be the message in the reaction of Morgan Stanley and Edward Hill-Wood to WPP’s 2009 forecast. WPP said it saw a 2 percent drop in revenues for 2009, when the company released its Q4 2008 results. But Morgan Stanley thought that was optimistic. The Independent: Morgan Stanley sounded the alarm, arguing that the market...

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Porn-based advertising/clothing empire American Apparel released its Q4 2008 results yesterday, and the news on the top and bottom lines looked good: Sales were up 30 percent to $146 million and net income was up 30 percent to $3.9 million. Less well-publicized, however, was the $4 million loan that AA CEO Dov Charney gave the company from his own money. (Charney is allegedly pictured, at...

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Don Coleman’s GlobalHue is accused of ripping off the government of Bermuda by overbilling its $13 million tourism advertising contract. In a report by Bermuda auditor general Larry Dennis (pictured), GlobalHue is accused of: Overbilling the account by $1.8 million. Prebilling the government in violation of its own rules. Not keeping invoices and billing records. Not returning discounts...

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A federal judge has awarded a summary judgment to News America Marketing Group in its case against a former account director who alerted federal authorities to the company’s alleged anticompetitive practices. The ruling is chilling for employees of ad agencies and marketing firms who discover that their company is engaged in potentially illegal acts. Robert Emmel took a computer hard...

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