Hasta La Creative!

Following the departure of chief strategy officer Anush Prabhu for MediaCom, Deutsch New York CEO Val DiFebo announced a reorganization of the New York office’s media, communications planning and data teams, which were overseen by Prabhu. The move also follows the recent hiring of Rachel Mercer as vice president, digital strategy director and the arrival of New York chief strategy officer Andrew Dawson in March.

Post-Prabhu, the agency has realigned its data, tech, communications planning and creative teams.

“There has been a natural gravitation and a growing collaboration occurring between our tech and data departments, as well as our creative and comms planning teams,” DiFebo said in a statement. “We have an incredibly strong leadership team already in place who will serve as the key pillars ensuring our continued success. This will optimize our creative and media output.”

Going forward, communications planning will unite with creative. Director of communications planning Matthew George will align more closely with the agency’s creative department, reporting to CCO Dan Kelleher, who arrived at the agency in April. There will also be closer ties between data and tech, as director of data analytics Rich VanSteenburgh will now report to chief technology officer Trevor O’Brien. On the media side, director of integrated media Karen Benson and director of local buying Maureen Burzynski will now report to chief operating officer Erica Grau.

“By bridging the gap between science and art, copy and code, and insight intelligence and emotion intelligence we’ll continue to change the way brands go to market and result in improved bottom lines for our clients,” added DiFebo.

J. Walter Thompson New York named Jennifer Usdan McBride as director of digital production, MediaPost reports. She will oversee all digital production for the New York office, reporting to Lisa Setten, head of integrated production.

McBride joins JWT from Deutsch New York, where she served as vice president, executive producer since September of 2012, working with clients including Microsoft and PNC Bank. The move marks something of a homecoming for McBride, as she was an executive producer at JWT New York before leaving for Deutsch and following a brief stint as a freelance senior interactive producer with BBH New York. McBride was a co-founder of both baby book iPhone application Emmbook and “chef-focused video restaurant guide” Savory Cities. She has served as a series producer for VH1 and Discovery Health and served a three year stint as a post production producer for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart beginning in 1996.

“Jennifer is a wonder to work with, an incredible creative thinker who is tireless in her efforts to elevate the work and bring innovative ideas to life,” Setten told MediaPost. “Add to this her knowledge and past experience with our clients, we feel extremely fortunate to be welcoming her back to the J. Walter Thompson family.”

Deutsch New York launched a new campaign for WATERisLIFE, in which the agency and photographer Neil DaCosta traveled to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia to provide families there with framed family portraits.

“Most people go into these rural areas of Ethiopia, snap a picture of the tribes and then leave…This is the first time anyone has physically printed, framed and given them a family portrait,” explained WATERisLife president Kristine Bender. “You could see the gratitude on their faces. Knowing we are making a difference by capturing an important moment in their life, the project’s goal isn’t just to give family portraits, it’s to keep these families alive.”

Since in the area somebody dies from water-related disease every 20 seconds, many of these portraits could provide the families with documentation of a lost loved one, making them all the more meaningful. It’s a sad reality that the photos are likely not only the first but also “The Last Family Portrait” for these families, but it’s also uplifting seeing each family’s joy and gratitude at having the photo. Although only a dozen or so families are featured in the ad, over one hundred families in the area had their photos taken. Print ads featuring the portraits and a call to action will run in publications including Forbes, The Economist and Bloomberg. Donations from the effort will be used for “digging wells that will give Omo Valley families and others the clean water, sanitation and hygiene they so desperately need.”

Credits:

Agency: Deutsch New York

Chief Creative Officer: Kerry Keenan
Executive Creative Director: Menno Kluin
Creative Directors: Sam Shepherd, Frank Cartagena, Julia Neumann
Art Director: Brittany Rivera
Copywriter: Kevin Meagher
Photographer: Neil DaCosta
Design Director: Juan Carlos Pagan
Designer: Brian Gartside
Retoucher: James Cullinane
Director of Integrated Media: Karen Benson
Director of Integrated Production: Joe Calabrese
Director of Digital Production: Suzanne Molinaro
Asst. Digital Producer: Libby Carespodi
Print Producer: Donald Odell
Producer: Joe Pernice
Post Producer: Francess Tom-Sahr
Senior Editor: Eric Grush
Editor: Pete Slife, Marcus Land
Digital Designer: Alex Miller
Developer: Shane Akins

On Monday we reported that Deutsch New York had won a portion of the Sherwin-Williams account, and yesterday the company confirmed the news with a press release. Specifically, Deutsch won the Diversified Brands Division of S-W and will “assume all marketing responsibilities, including media planning and buying, for the portfolio of brands.”

The brands involved include Minwax, Krylon, Purdy, Thompson’s WaterSeal, Dutch Boy, Pratt & Lambert, Dupli-Color, and others.

From Crain’s Cleveland, a Sherwin spokesperson said that the account, which had previously been handled by multiple agencies, went to Deutsch so the client can “‘align portfolio brands’ and ‘drive efficiencies of the portfolio.’”

While the company did not disclose billings on the account, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that its Q3 sales totals rose by 11 percent thanks to acquisitions and sales growth. No word on when to expect new work.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In news we missed this week, R/GA isn’t the only New York agency that went shopping for real estate in recent months.

Deutsch New York, which has called the (Google-branded) building at 111 8th Avenue home since 1999, will soon be moving into new uptown digs. The agency recently signed a lease for 330 W. 34th Street, a structure owned by Vornado Realty Trust. In a related call, Vornado described the office as “the low-cost producer and not a bad place to be”, revealing that Deutsch will occupy two floors and 74,346 square feet (a smaller space than its current 134,830 square foot office) and — most importantly — that one of those two floors has a terrace.

Here’s the agency’s official statement:

“Our lease runs through 2018 at 111 8th Avenue, but when we re-upped the lease over a year and a half ago we had already been exploring new spaces and seeking out up and coming neighborhoods. That was one of the key things we were interested in—being able to explore new areas and make our mark, as we did when we moved to 111 8th Avenue in 1999. At that time the Meatpacking district was just that, and, for perspective, the Maritime Hotel was a meth addict treatment center. Our new space is on the edge of the Hudson Yards, an emerging area with character and history that is poised for growth. We’re excited about the move and will begin designing and building out the space shortly, and imagine a move sometime in 2015.”

Finally, the new office will be on the West side adjacent to Penn Station, home to New York’s only Krispy Kreme as well as both the sixth and seventh circles of Hell. So your inevitable Jeffersons reference doesn’t apply.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Today global agency We Are Social announced two new senior hires in its New York office.

Jenn Bader joins the agency from mcgarrybowen to serve as group account director; she’ll oversee accounts including current media darling/jewel in the crown Beats by Dre. After beginning her career as a front-end developer, Bader spent six years at Digitas working on Samsung, TGI Fridays and Kraft Foods before heading to mcgarrybowen, where she oversaw digital/social for Chase and Verizon Wireless.

Craig Stauber will be director of research and insights, reporting to department head Peter Fontana. Stauber most recently spent four years as senior manager of analytics at JWT, where he primarily worked on CPG and financial services accounts. His resume also includes three years spent in the Deutsch New York analytics department.

Managing director Leila Thabet calls the two “…talented, well-versed practitioners in their fields who will provide value to clients and keep the agency on its fast growth trajectory.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.