David Longman, McCann-Erickson’s director of marketing, is parting
company with the agency after what has been described as a ‘clash of
personalities and styles’ with the new managing director, Ben Langdon.
The announcement comes a year after Longman joined the agency from the
Radio Advertising Bureau, where he was head of communications, with a
brief to rid McCanns of its ‘sleeping giant’ reputation.
Longman becomes the second senior management casualty at the agency
following Langdon’s arrival from Collett Dickenson Pearce in June.
In August, Tracy Lovatt, the director of commercial development,
resigned from the agency after seven years, following disagreements with
Langdon about the shop’s future direction.
Longman said: ‘I understand Ben has to run the agency the way he sees
fit and that means bringing in the people he most wants to work with. I
can’t argue with that.’
Longman was appointed by David Warden, the McCanns chairman, as part of
plans to gain more PR mileage out of the agency’s work and to raise the
industry profiles of the agency’s senior managers.
But Warden said this week: ‘If David hadn’t been around when Ben
arrived, I doubt he would have gone out to appoint somebody like him.’
He added: ‘It’s not simply a personality clash. It’s more that Ben takes
the simplistic view that agencies gain a reputation by doing great
campaigns. In four years’ time we may need somebody like David again.’
Longman will continue working on projects for McCanns until the end of
the year.
Meanwhile Langdon, who was appointed to give McCanns energy and
direction, is expected to brief its US bosses this month on his proposed
structural changes.
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