Execs and Accounts for October 28, 2002

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has named Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners as agency of record for its ongoing interactive branding campaign.

Euro RSCG MVBMS succeeds Stein Rogan + Partners, which handled market research, strategy, positioning and creative execution for the ongoing branding campaign’s first phase, called “Interactive: It’s the Active Ingredient.” That campaign launched in July 2002 and to date has delivered 340 million online impressions, according to the IAB.

Since the campaign is a pro bono effort by the industry, with all ad inventory and services being donated by the industry, the IAB said it would be unfair to expect Stein Rogan + Partners to donate services for the entire year of the effort. The estimated value of the donated ad inventory and services is approximately $5 million.

“This campaign, from conception to creative to implementation, would not have been possible without Stein Rogan + Partners,” said Greg Stuart, President & CEO of the IAB. “Over the life of the IBC, we will endeavor to bring new players into the mix so that we can share the work among all the best in the business, and continuously refresh the overall effort.”

SF Interactive (SFI) has promoted several senior execs within the agency. Karen Gordon and Patrick Spargur have assumed co-executive creative director positions, and Andy Sims has been named media director. All three have been with SFI since 1999, Gordon and Spargur as associate creative directors and Sims as associate media director.

Before SFI, Gordon was a senior copywriter at Cohn & Wells, and Spargur served as an art director for Agency.com. Sims’ prior work includes stints at Goldberg Moser O’Neill and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

“I am particularly pleased to be able to promote this capable and talented trio from within the ranks of the agency,” said Bruce Carlisle, the agency’s president and CEO. “Karen and Patrick have been instrumental to our creative success and reputation at SFI. Andy is simply the most innovative interactive media director in the business.”

On top of the promotions, SFI was recently named interactive agency of record for Wind River Systems. SFI’s work for the software and services firm will include overall e-business strategy, online advertising, email marketing, and data reporting.

“We were impressed with the comprehensive nature of SF Interactive’s offering and history. They clearly understand the role of customer relationship marketing in building a dialog with both developers and business decision makers, and they have all the tools to execute across the board,” said Robert Carroll, Wind River’s director of e-marketing.

Web boutique DraftDigital has completed an extension to the Jose Cuervo Web site. Called CuervoNation (after the tequila maker’s resort island of the same name), the new section allows users to generate “Cuervo experiences” with animated visual and sound components, which can then be sent to friends via email. Additionally, consumers can take a virtual tour of the island and read about its history. The Cuervo site expansion follows DraftDigital’s launch last month of a Spanish version of the tequila maker’s Web site.

“The addition of the CuervoNation section to our Web site reinforces our commitment to sustaining an interactive relationship with our customers,” said Sam Chadha, integrated marketing manager for Jose Cuervo.

Jose Cuervo has also entered into a partnership with bThere.TV, a producer and distributor of celebrity reality programs, to introduce Cuervo Network TV (CNTV), an entertainment channel users can access through CuervoNation. BThere.TV will capture footage of celebrities enjoying CuervoNation “moments,” and CNTV will broadcast content from bThere.TV.

Bluestreak has hired Teri Andrews as vice president of sales. Andrews was most recently with Web marketing company Yesmail, where she was VP of North American sales. She also held executive marketing roles at ADVO and Harte Hanks Direct Marketing/Database Marketing.

“Teri represents a powerful and strategic addition to our senior management team,” said Bluestreak CEO Peter Corrao. “We are thrilled to have someone with Teri’s proven track record and exceptional experience.”

Fullplay Media Systems has retained integrated marketer Porter Novelli for public relations. Porter Novelli, which won an award for work in support of SONICblue’s Rio MP3 player, will extend awareness of Fullplay’s in-store media preview technology among industry pundits, business decision makers and early adopters of digital media.

“Fullplay has been the silent partner behind many successful products,” said Dennis Tevlin, CEO of Fullplay. “Our work with Porter Novelli will create the foundation necessary for increasing brand awareness and expanding our market.”

For more breaking news on account action and executive moves, visit ChannelSeven.com.