Marsteller Advertising, once a top-20 worldwide agency, is being
relaunched in the UK as a business-to-business operation with a brief to
explore the new field of ‘perception management’.
The agency will be headed by Jeff Klein as chief executive officer, and
Bill McQuillan as managing director. The duo were previously at Grey
Business Worldwide as chief executive and director respectively.
Marsteller Advertising was founded in 1952, and was purchased by Young
and Rubicam in 1979. It was wound down soon afterwards because Burson-
Marsteller, its public relations arm, was able to perform the agency’s
work.
However, Y&R has identified a renewed need for a worldwide agency that
specialises in corporate, business-to-business and issues-based
campaigns.
Klein commented: ‘Our clients are in complex markets, and we will be
helping them to resolve operational issues as well as the way they
communicate.’
Marsteller Advertising was relaunched in the US six months ago, headed
by Tom Bell, and has annual billings of dollars 40 million. Clients
include Nynex and Gulfstream.
In Europe, Marsteller will initially target Y&R and Burson-Marsteller
clients with specialist needs in the ‘perception management’ area.
Perception management deals with the internal and external
communications of a company which needs to change its identity,
structure or image.
Fernan Montero, chairman and chief executive of Y&R Europe, said: ‘As
more and more clients use advertising as part of their corporate
marketing programmes, it makes sense to introduce a specialist unit to
offer a finely focused service.’
