MELBOURNE agency Y&R Mattingly has some big plans next year with a major restructure on the drawing board. The biggest shifts are a change in name and a move into retail marketing.
The agency—which will next year launch a stand-alone retail division under the Mattingly name and is expected to announce a handful of senior appointments at Y&R—is also considering extending its offering to include sales promotion in 2004.
Y&R MD Kim Boehm said change was afoot in 2004 as the agency sought to carve out a place for itself as a “creative and strong-thinking agency”.
Boehm said the decision to drop Mattingly from the Y&R name signalled a break from the past and a progressive approach to the future of the agency.
“Historically, the Mattingly name has been good in terms of uniting the two agencies after the merger (of Y&R and Mattingly & Partners in 1996),” he said.
“Now it’s time to look ahead, not back.”
The new retail division will operate as a stand-alone entity, with Y&R Melbourne chairman Geoff Ingall to act in an advisory capacity ahead of a new team being named.
“There’s a big pool of business out there,” Boehm told B&T.
“The aim is to attract clients which use catalogues as their predominant medium.
“Basically we’ll be dealing with high volume, item-priced retail work.”
The new division is expected to compete with retail-focused agencies including CHE as well as catalogue specialists.
Industry sources predicted the move could add further fuel to the fire between CHE and Y&R, with reports of tension between the two agencies in the aftermath of Boehm’s defection from CHE to Y&R (B&T Nov 1).
Boehm would not be drawn on the matter, saying only that there was sufficient business to sustain a new player in the retail arena and competition was healthy for the industry.
Meanwhile, Y&R is next year expected to expand its offering to include sales promotion, with a number of options currently being assessed.
One option is to link the sales promotion offering with Wunderman, or alternatively, acquire an existing sales promotion outfit.
Y&R CEO Hamish McLennan said the overriding principle at Y&R at present was to “operate as leanly and as effectively as possible”.
He said any changes would be made in the line with this approach.
