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What Say You, GlobalHue?

It’s been a while since we’ve shed some light on GlobalHue, save for the random Jeep campaign, branding assignment or other drama, but the agency has announced that it’s bumped up SVP/ECD Vida Cornelious to chief creative officer, EVP/ECD Michael Jacobs to chief digital officer and EVP of client services Maria Lopez-Knowles to president of GH Latino.

In addition to the promotions, GlobalHue has welcomed MRM/TBWA\Chiat\Day alum Matt Lee as SVP of business development and Jorge Abascal as SVP, creative director. All the posts are based in NYC.

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BBDO NY CD Says Bye with Late-Night Bike Ride Through Office

Last Wednesday marked the end of Daniel Bremmer‘s two-and-a-half year stint at BBDO New York, and as a way of bidding fond farewell, the VP, creative director decided to upload a video where he takes a tour of his own through the agency’s office space. With his bike conveniently parked in BBDO’s HQ, Bremmer decided to strap a camera to his helmet and take a ride late one night through the creative and account floors as you’ll see in the clip above (kicking things off with Sinatra’s “My Way” is a nice touch).

FYI, the video was actually shot last summer before they tore down the entire 7th floor at BBDO NY to start remodeling, but we say Bremmer picked the right time to finally post it. As for what’s next on the horizon, Bremmer, who has worked as a copywriter/creative at the likes of SS+K and Publicis West in the past, says he’s hitting the freelance circuit for the time being (and taking up more biking, we assume).

Thibodeau Out at KBS+P

Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners has parted ways with Steven Thibodeau, who had served as both chief digital officer at the agency and president of its Dotglu division. Thibodeau spent nearly 11 years at KBS+P, which he joined after a brief stint as EVP, director of interactive marketing at the now-defunct Fallon New York.

During his career, the exec has worked as a managing director at Scient, which was eventually merged into Razorfish, and on the account/management side at shops like Ammirati & Puris Lintas that were later absorbed by Lowe & Partners. We’re trying to find out the reason behind Thibodeau’s departure from KBP+S and are expecting some sort of answer soon. We’ll keep you posted.

Update: KBS+P has confirmed Thibodeau’s departure, saying it was his decision to move on after spending 11 years at the agency and helping build its digital presence. From what we’ve been told, Thibodeau has left to focus on other projects including his not-for profit organization ‘LOVE’  that he co-founded with his wife several years ago.

Alexander Promoted to ECD at Martin Agency

We’ve received confirmation that Martin Agency CCO John Norman has promoted group creative director Joe Alexander to ECD. Alexander has been with Martin for nearly two decades (!), working on accounts including Wal-Mart (most recently, the popular Yodeling Cat holiday effort) as well as the American Cancer Society and the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.  In addition, this week, the Martin Agency launched an in-house project led by Alexander that’s aimed at helping a fellow employee who’s battling cancer.

Prior to Martin, Alexander had a brief stint as a creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day and held copywriting jobs at the likes of Campbell Mithun early on in his career.

Austria Officially Assumes Title of Digital GCD at Deutsch LA

After spending a good portion of 2011 freelancing at Deutsch LA, Jerome Austria has officially been appointed as EVP, group digital creative director on the Volkswagen account. Most recently, Austria served as the creative force behind the teaser for the automaker’s Super Bowl follow-up to last year’s “The Force” called “The Bark Side,” which continued with the Star Wars theme and featured pooches barking “The Imperial March.”

You might remember Austria from his days at W+K New York, where he spent nearly three years and last served as ECD on accounts including Brand Jordan (such as the “Dominate Another Day” campaign starring Dwyane Wade) and ESPN before parting ways with the agency a year ago. Austria and co-ECD Kevin Proudfoot were subsequently replaced by Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal, who returned to W+K after several years.

Anyhow, back to Austria. Though he initially planned on a temporary stay at Deutsch LA while testing out other local agencies, the success of campaigns like “The Bark Side” convinced him to stay put according to the agency, which currently houses  450+ staffers.

And Now, Your Quick G2 Update

Well, we haven’t really heard from G2 since the holidays (remember this?), so let’s bring you up to speed for one hot minute. We’ve received confirmation that the agency has parted ways with both director of talent acquisition Anna Mintzer and group director, talent acquisition Nancie Rinaldi.

The staff shift follows the recent hiring of one Deborah Hankin (pictured), who officially joined G2 over three weeks ago to serve as executive director, talent management for the agency’s USA operations (which currently includes four offices). Hankin has worked in the past on both the account and recruiting sides at the likes of JWT, Wunderman, Deutsch and what was then FCBi. As for Mintzer, the former G2 talent director spent nearly five years helping lead recruiting efforts at G2 while Rinaldi had spent only seven months at the agency after joining from MediaVest.

 

KBS+P Welcomes New ECD on BMW Biz

While we’re on the MDC-related front, let’s tell you that New York-based Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners has hired Michael Craven (right) as executive creative director on BMW among other clients. As a result, he’ll team up with fellow ECD DJ Pierce, who if you recall rejoined KBS+P last May, on the automaker’s account. Craven’s previous agency experience includes a stint at CP+B, where he moved up from senior copywriter to VP/CD before leaving to work on his second book  early last year (his first, Body Copy, was published in 2009 and set in the ad industry).

In addition to Craven’s arrival, KBS+P promoted creative director Jon Goldberg to ECD. The creative has been with Kirshenbaum for nearly four  years, leading the Vanguard business in the process (which he still does). Prior to KBS+P, he spent time at the likes of W+K Portland and New York as a copywriter and ACD/copywriter at McCann.

Merkin, Rolfe Move On from CP+B

Nearly two years after rejoining Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s Miami office soon after the shuttering of his agency Toy, Ari Merkin (pictured) is leaving the agency to reunite with his old Toy co-conspirators in a consulting role with CP+B parent company MDC Partners. In addition, director of integrated production Dave Rolfe, who had been with Crispin for nearly five years, is leaving the agency for a post at BBDO New York. Read the full statement from CP+B CEO Andrew Keller below:

“Ari Merkin is moving from CP+B and will be consulting with our holding company, MDC Partners where he will be reunited with his former partners from TOY, and current MDC executive management principals Anne Bologna and David Dabill. We are grateful for all Ari has contributed to CP+B and look forward to seeing him flourish in all of his future endeavors.

Additionally, Dave Rolfe is leaving CP+B to join BBDO, NY. We are truly appreciative for all of his meaningful contributions to CP+B. We will not be replacing his role as Director of Integrated Production, however, we will be announcing a new Director of Video Production in the next few weeks.  The Integrated Production Department has incredibly strong leadership within each group and we think this system accurately reflects the current needs of the agency and our clients. Tiffany Rolfe, Dave’s wife and an Executive Creative Director will be staying on at CP+B, continuing as a lead of our LA office, but will eventually be based out of New York with our Global Strategy Officer Suzanne Powers and others based in New York. We are pretty sure we will still be seeing quite a lot of Dave and we remain great friends.

Andrew Keller
CEO
CP+B”

Update: Rolfe is expected to make the move from Los Angeles and join up with BBDO NY as director of integrated production in March.

R/GA Alum Allen Joins SapientNitro

After spending barely six months at Arnold Worldwide as VP, creative director, Tim Allen has moved on and assumed the newly created position of creative director, experience design at SapientNitro’s Boston office. In his new role, Allen will oversee “navigation, organization and interaction design” across web, mobile and digital.

The creative is perhaps best known for his three-year stint at R/GA, where he helped redesign the agency’s much-lauded Nike+ platform. Now at SapientNitro’s Boston branch, which has worked with clients including Dunkin Donuts and Ram, Allen will join an agency that counts over 100 creatives on its roster.

Laid-Off GS+P Employees Implore Other Agencies to “Grab Some Goodby”

Last week, sweeping layoffs at GS+P left, by some estimates, hundreds jobless. As one commenter noted on our post last week,”Great. This just made the freelance market in SF about a billion times tougher.” No, it probably wasn’t most sensitive of statements, but it undoubtedly carries a good amount of truth with it. When that many people are let go in a market the size of San Francisco, it’s an uphill battle.

But, resolute recent ex-Goodby employees are attempting to turn lemons into lemonade. JD Beebe, an NYC-based copywriter/strategist/producer/consultant and GS+P alum created “Grab Some Goodby,” a site dedicated to finding his fallen comrades new jobs. To get the word out, Beebe’s enlisted the help of NYC’S Goodby alumni group on Facebook.

So, how about it, agency recruiters? If you want to find some recently jobless San Franciscans with experience working at one of the country’s most well-known creative shops, look no further. And, ex-GS+P employees, feel free to upload your mugshot and relevant info to the site.

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