Draftfcb

DRAFTFCB

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Advertising
Genre	Advertising agency
Founded	1873 (1873) (as Lord & Thomas)
Headquarters	New York, Chicago
Number of locations	90 countries
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Howard Draft Executive Chairman Carter Murray Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Harries Vice Chairman Emeritus & Executive Advisor, Global Creative Neil Miller COO
Services	Marketing communications
Employees	8,600
Parent	Interpublic Group of Companies
Website	www.draftfcb.com

Draftfcb is one of the largest global advertising agency networks.^[1] It is owned by Interpublic Group and was formed by the 2006 merger of Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) and Draft. Although the merger of the two agencies is fairly young, the origins of Draftfcb date back to 1873, with the opening of Lord & Thomas ad agency, which later became Foote, Cone, & Belding. The Interpublic Group is one of the big four agency holdings conglomerates, the others being Publicis, WPP, and Omnicom.

History

Founded as Lord and Thomas in Chicago in 1873, FCB was the world's third oldest advertising agency. Albert Lasker, a founding figure of modern advertising, went to work for the firm as a clerk in 1898, working his way up until he purchased it in 1912. Chicago, along with New York, was the center of the nation's advertising industry, and Lasker, known as the "father of modern advertising", made Chicago his base from 1898-1942. As head of the Lord and Thomas agency, Lasker devised a copywriting technique that appealed directly to the psychology of the consumer. Women seldom smoked cigarettes; he told them if they smoked Lucky Strikes they could stay slender. Lasker's use of radio, particularly with his campaigns for Palmolive soap, Pepsodent toothpaste, Kotex feminine hygiene products, and Lucky Strike cigarettes, not only revolutionized the advertising industry but also significantly changed popular culture.^[2]

In 1942, Lasker sold Lord and Thomas to its three top managers, Emerson H. Foote in New York, Fairfax Cone in Chicago, and Don Belding in California, who renamed it.^{[citation needed]} In 2000, the agency reported billings of $9.5 billion and more than 190 offices serving clients in 102 countries.^{[citation needed]}

The direct marketing agency, Kobs & Brady, founded in 1978, was the precursor for Draft. Howard Draft was an account executive at the agency, which in 1986 was acquired by Ted Bates Worldwide. The agency was renamed Kobs & Draft when Draft became its Chairman and CEO in 1988. In 1995, the agency regained its independence in a management buyout and was renamed Draft Direct Worldwide. A year later, Draft Direct Worldwide was purchased by The Interpublic Group of Companies.^{[citation needed]}

Draft Direct Worldwide and Foote, Cone & Belding merged in June 2006, to form Draftfcb. The agency’s global corporate leadership team includes Howard Draft, executive chairman; Jonathan Harries, vice chairman emeritus and executive advisor, global creative; and Neil Miller, COO. In March 2013, Carter Murray was named the incoming CEO of Draftfcb.^[3]

Less than a year after the merger, in April 2007, Kmart switched its $740 million account from Grey New York to Draftfcb Chicago without a pitch.^[4] Kmart's chief marketing officer, Bill Stewart, said: "Grey has been a good partner over the years, but we feel Draftfcb is uniquely qualified to assist our needs right now." Howard Draft, Draftfcb's chairman at the time, commented: "Our two organizations have a shared commitment to accountability and loyalty."

In October 2008, Ad Age focused on the state of the agency two years after the merger, noting: “In truth, in the two years since the Chicago-rooted agencies Draft and Foote Cone & Belding merged, the agency has won more than 250 pieces of business around the globe including Kmart, Qwest and the U.S. Census Bureau.” The article goes on to list other major account wins including: MoneyGram International, Domino’s Pizza (Puerto Rico) and DirecTV.^[5]

Wins in 2012 include Cox Communications,^[6] SeaWorld/Busch Gardens,^[7] Amtrak/Acela,^[8] PaperMate, and Air New Zealand,^[9] plus nearly 200 other new clients in the global network.^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, the FDA tapped Draftfcb to create campaigns to stem youth tobacco use.^[10]

Campaigns and awards

Since its creation in 2006, the agency and its work have been recognized at a number of award competitions—Cannes, The One Show, and industry competitions Echoes, El Ojo, Effies, and Caples—as well as agency-of-the-year honors for its New Zealand,^[11] Indonesia,^[12] and Durban^[13] São Paulo, Mexico City and Kuwait offices. And in January 2010, the agency was recognized on Advertising Age's annual A-List, which honors "the agencies that showed moxie, innovation and effectiveness in 2009." David Novak, CEO of Yum! Brands, was quoted in the article saying "[T]hey are client maniacs. They are genuine business partners who really care about the success of our brands"^[14]

Ad Age regularly lists Draftfcb-created spots for brands like KFC, Oreo and Taco Bell^[15] among IAG/Nielsen’s most-liked and most-recalled ads, and Time.com’s Lev Grossman noted in his Nerd World blog that the spot for EA Games’ Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, “Oh No You Didn’t,” created by Draftfcb San Francisco, was the greatest video game ad of 2008.^[16]

Draftfcb San Francisco's "Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2" campaign took home Gold in the Outstanding Overall Marketing Campaign of the Year category and a Silver in the Best Online Rich Media category for their work on Mass Effect 2 at the 2011 MI6 Game Marketing Conference and Awards Show. In addition, the San Francisco office won two Bronzes for the same campaign at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.^[17]

The 2010 U.S. Census campaign, led by Draftfcb New York, received Gold in the multicultural category and the Research Achievement Award at the 2010 Advertising Research Foundation David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research.^[18]

Draftfcb won more than 345 awards globally in 2010, including six best workplace honors for Draftfcb Chicago. Draftfcb Spain's "Cutty Shark Shanghai-London" event was named one of the Top 10 events of the first decade of the 21st century, according to Spanish magazine Estrategias. Draftfcb Johannesburg won two Silver Radio Lions at Cannes for Toyota.^[19]

In 2011, judges awarded Draftfcb New Zealand the Best in Show, Media Agency of the Year and Leadership awards, as well as five gold and three silver awards at the CAANZ Awards.^[20] Draftfcb New Zealand was also named Media Agency of the Year at the Fairfax Media/AdMedia Agency of the Year Awards in 2011, 2010 and 2008.^[21] Draftfcb Malaysia was voted the number one creative agency in Malaysia in 2010 by Cream Magazine.^[22]

Draftfcb Healthcare was named "Agency of the Year" by Medical Advertising News in 2006 and 2009 and by Medical Marketing & Media in 2007 and 2011.^[23] In 2010 and 2011, it was named Most Creative Agency by Medical Advertising News.^[24] In 2013, Draftfcb Healthcare’s “Escape The Stall” work for the Crohn’s & Colitis Founding was named “Best Philanthropic Campaign” at the Manny Awards by Medical Advertising News.^[25] Draftfcb Healthcare also won for “Get Your Shift Together” in the “Best Nonbranded Campaign” category for its work for TEVA targeting shift workers.

At the 2011 IPG MERGE Diversity & Inclusion Awards, Draftfcb Chicago won Gold for Multicultural Agency/Practice of the Year and Draftfcb New York won Gold for Inclusive Marketing Initiative of the Year for its leadership role on the 2010 U.S. Census. Draftfcb's U.S. operations also won a Gold for Supplier Diversity, celebrating commitment to engaging and supporting minority vendors across the country.^[26]

In 2012, Draftfcb was named the Agency Champion of Inclusion at the Interpublic Group’s 2012 Inclusion Awards.^[27] The agency received 17 Cannes Lions,^[28] four ARF David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research, more than any other agency, for PACCAR, US Postal Service, KFC and MilkPEP,^[29] and three CLIO Awards.

Some of the most talked about campaigns in 2012 were OREO “Daily Twist”^[30] and New Zealand’s MINI “Driving Dogs.^[31]” Chicago’s Halloween web video for Kmart,^[32] Argentina’s work for ZonaJobs and Orange County’s “Operation Alaska” for Taco Bell^[33] also created a lot of buzz.

In 2013, Draftfcb won the Facebook Blue Studio Award for OREO “Daily Twist.^[34]” Draftfcb won three Reggie Awards for OREO 100th Birthday Celebration, Sharpie and Taco Bell. Eight offices won 14 CLIO Awards, six One Show PENCIL Awards for Valspar “Cityscape,” UTEC University Potable Water Generator, Prime Television “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” Engen Calendar Fire Blanket and SPCA/MINI New Zealand “Driving Dogs.”^[35] The agency also won five North American Effie Awards for OREO “Daily Twist,” PFLAG “Stories to Inspire Change”^[36] and SPIRIVA “Elephant,^[37]” in addition to 35 Lions and a Grand Prix at the 2013 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.^[38] Adweek awarded Draftfcb the first-ever Project Isaac Gravity Award, its top honor.^[39]

Notes

External links

• Draftfcb's website
• Albert Lasker biography