Execs & Accounts for April 6, 2005
Fathom hires new COO; Bigfoot brings aboard Guttenberg; and Tocquigny snares VP of client services.
Agency.com created online ads for client BrownCo’s “It’s Time” campaign targeting online traders. The Web effort is aimed at those who “want a hand in investing, not a hand in your pocket.” A series of Flash banners running on sites including Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch link to a mini-site created by the Omnicom agency.
Fathom Online hired Dennis Adsit as chief operating officer, a new post. Adsit was Intuit’s senior VP of contact center operations and process excellence. He is credited with leading a move toward a more data-driven methodology at the tax software provider. Intuit recently hired former Procter & Gamble interactive marketing head Mark Schar as its new SVP and CMO.
AKQA launched a pro bono campaign for Break the Cycle, a non-profit that fights dating and domestic violence. The email and banner campaign targets young females. One banner’s copy repeats “He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me…” until the user rolls over the unit and breaks the cycle. Media includes About.com, Friendster, Oprah.com and BET.
Reuters.com promoted Steven Schwartz to senior VP and general manager of its investing channel. The role has oversight of operations and ad sales. Earlier, he was VP of global business operations for Reuters.com.
Bigfoot Interactive hired Jonathan Guttenberg as VP of strategic development. Guttenberg was president and co-founder of Local Alert, a wireless news service. Earlier, he was CEO of GORP.com, an adventure travel Web site. He held senior posts at Bertelsmann AG, Viacom International and Columbia Pictures Entertainment.
DoubleClick renewed 33 ad management relationships in the first quarter. BabyCenter, eDiets, Foote, Cone & Belding, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Moxie Interactive and WeddingChannel.com are among the clients to re-up.
Tocquigny Advertising, Interactive + Marketing hired Todd Ruff as VP of client services. Ruff was global advertising and e-marketing director at Freescale/Motorola and a founding partner at RuffCoffinBreedlove. The agency also named Sara Breuer to head business development, Jonathan Hochman to lead interactive services, and Jason Ford as senior interactive producer.
Honda deployed Aprimo’s Ad Builder ad production software. The ASP will be deployed on behalf of Honda’s dealer network.
Qantas Airways is using an animated koala bear created by animax to support a promotion. A banner on the airline’s U.S. homepage points to a page featuring the “spokesbear,” named Vic, which has appeared in Qantas’ advertising for years.
