BBDO to merge Craik Jones with Proximity

by Kate Nettleton, Campaign, 20 August 2008, 10:15am

LONDON - BBDO is gearing up to merge the direct marketing agency Craik Jones with Proximity, in a move that will signal the end of the Craik Jones brand.

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Cilla Snowball...Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO group chief executive

The merger has yet to be finalised, but BBDO has confirmed that once it is completed, the Craik Jones name will no longer exist and the merged entity will operate as Proximity.

All Craik Jones' staff, including the recently appointed chief executive Mike Welsh, will move into Proximity's offices.

It is not yet known what roles the Craik Jones management team will assume, although it is understood that Welsh will retain a senior title at the newly merged agency.

Amanda Phillips will remain as chief executive of Proximity.

Cilla Snowball, the Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO group chief executive, said: "Together we can provide a formidable creative force and deliver our clients and people more opportunity for growth.

"There are benefits for both companies in the proposed merger."

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All Comments

CHRIS BARRACLOUGH - 20 August 2008

A sad day for the industry when one of its flagship agencies disappears. Craik Jones did more than most to raise creative standards so it's a shame it's not worked out.

Richard Hayter - 20 August 2008

It is a real shame. But something must have been going a bit wrong to lose so many big clients. The agency's creative legacy will live on, though.

The Boot - 20 August 2008

It was always clear that if Craik Jones didn't modernise its thinking and output there was no place for it in the modern marketplace. Even though the crunch was coming, the management obviously had no strategy to prevent this. Hence the haemorrhaging of long-standing clients and persistent failure to attract new ones. A classic case of an agency trading on a past reputation for far too long.