www.advertisementjournal.com » Layoffs

Seattle’s HL2 Closes Up Shop

victor — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:11:38 +0000

Seattle-based advertising company HL2 has gone out of business after more than 15 years, according to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal.

The company, which was formerly known as Horton Lantz & Low, had lost major clients in recent months and the tough economic climate made it difficult to borrow more money in order to stay afloat. It closed its doors on Monday.

HL2 had about 40 employees and 25 of those workers were immediately hired by digital marketing agency Ascentium, a competitor, HL2 founding partner and CEO Tom Horton told the Business Journal.

Pearson Partners Closing Doors After 33 Years

victor — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:59:01 +0000

Longtime Indianapolis, Ind. ad agency Pearson Partners Inc. is closing after 33 years, according to a report in the Indianapolis Business Journal. About a dozen workers will be left without a job.

The agency apparently is another victim of the tough economic times. President and CEO Ron Pearson told the paper “we’ve struggled through the recession” and that the decision to close shop was made after cutting and eliminating budgets.

Pearson, who announced the decision in an e-mail Friday, said the agency has more than 30 clients and many of them are being referred to nearby Hetrick advertising and public relations agency.

Pearson will keep a crew of three intact for another week or two to tie up loose ends.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty to Decimate UK Staff

erik — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:28:15 +0000

Advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty will lay off 10% of its staff in the United Kingdom. The firm blames the decline in ad spending.

The redundancies will target 40 people at the firm’s 400-person London office. Earlier this year, the agency slashed salaries by 3.5%.

BBH counts British Airways, Barclays Bank and Audi amongst its clients.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty was founded by John Bartle, Nigel Bogle & John Hegarty in 1982. In 1997, Leo Burnett Worldwide purchased a 49% share in BBH; that share is now held by the Publicis advertising group. It has six offices worldwide - London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, São Paulo and Shanghai, plus an “office” in Second Life. It employs more than 800 staff globally.

Kolar Lays Off 19 Employees

erik — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:18:37 +0000

Kolar Advertising has laid off employees for the first time in its 20-year history. Nineteen of the firm’s 89 employees have been laid off.

Those laid off are getting a severance package and outplacement.

Two of Kolar’s major clients, the US Army and 3M, have cut back on ad and marketing spending.

Founded in 1989, Kolar is the fifth-largest advertising agency in Austin, Texas.

CCO Wilson Leaves Dentsu America

erik — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:12:06 +0000

Dentsu America has confirmed that Mike Wilson has left the firm. He was Chief Creative Officer and an executive vice president.

Wilson joined the firm in December 2006. No reason was given for his departure.

Wilson was previously a group creative director at Ogilvy & Mather. Creative directors Paul Laffy and Bruno Corbo, also previously at Ogilvy, will take over for Wilson as co-lead creative directors.

Founded in 1901, Dentsu is one of the largest advertising agency brands in the world. Its headquarters are located in Tokyo.

Manhattan’s Horn Corp. Gives Office Space to Unemployed Ad Workers

erik — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:42:17 +0000

Manhattan ad agency The Horn Corp. is offering free office space to unemployed advertising pros looking for work.

Each day a small crowd of grateful people works out of their office on their laptops, sending out resumes. The job-searchers have formed a small community, helping each other chase down job leads.

Agency honcho Ariel Horn brainstorms with the job-seekers, discussing possible projects. If Horn likes an idea, he may pursue it with his firm — and hire the person who came up with the idea.

The Horn Corp is a full-scale marketing and media agency based in New York City.

Feds: Ad Agencies Lost 24,100 Jobs in Recession

erik — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:38:22 +0000

According to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the US Department of Labor, the nation’s advertising agencies have lost 24,100 jobs since the recession began last year.

Advertising Age used the government numbers to determine that, factoring in all advertising related media jobs, the total job loss for the period is 65,100.

According to BNET, the following ad agencies have lost more than 100 employees: Campbell-Ewald, Ogilvy Group North America, BBDO North America, Valassis Communications, BBDO Detroit, Spot Runner, and Doner Advertising.