Just the En(FACTs)icos

The facts are what I’m interested in…just the enFACTsicos. I know that it is Enfatico and not Enfactico or Enfactsico, but it makes a better title this way. I’m looking for more info, so please comment to let me know if I’m way off base here.

Possible Enfatico Facts:

1. They are staffed at <20% of their promised level.
2. They are not currently able to handle all the Dell business, so Dell business is still going to other shops.
3. They sit around, play board games and dick-around on the internet all day.
4. Dell could use the staffers that were cut internally to do the work if…they hadn’t been cut.
5. They have Adomatica on a blog-black-list.
(OK, that last one is 100% made-up)

WPP Project DaVinci Newspaper Ad

The “fine” print (a brief summary with a bit of color):
Marketing is rocket science.
WPP needs people with “unbelievable smarts” to make Project DaVinci work.
They want to build “a marketing group driven by the brightest minds, not history.”
“In fact”, like you don’t know this already their “first” (and only) “client is Dell”, so you’ll get to work only on Dell stuff all day long.
They are looking for folks to sit in cubes and work as “project managers, copywriters, art directors, and strategists.”
If you are smart and in advertising and you aren’t a good fit at Project DaVinci, check out the job postings at NASA.
“PROJECT DAVINCI: FOUNDERS WANTED projectdavinci@wpp.com”

Dell-WPP’s Da Vinci Hires GM

Dell-WPP’s Project Da Vinci agency has hired Valerie Hausladen as its general manager of operations of its Austin office (Her Linkedin profile is already updated). The currently being staffed-out agency will also have shops in San Francisco and New York. Hausladen was the consultant who helped Dell in its search for a new agency, a search that obviously resulted in the selection of WPP and the creation of Project Da Vinci. Before her time as a consultant, Hausladen’s last agency experience was as President of Tocquigny, as Austin-based interactive marketing agency. Prior to that, Hausladen was Director of Marketing for Dell Higher Education and Dell Public.

I’ve sent Hauslden a few questions via email…we’ll see if she replies.

Feedback and Da Vinci Questions

This note just came in via email:

“hey there, i like checking in with your blog. i think there needs to be more agency gossip. keep up the good work.

say, do you know when this davinci behemoth is opening it’s doors? also, do you know if there is central site for hiring? i’m looking for a position in media and i can’t find anything on the wpp site and listings i’ve seen on job sites are for project managers and such. i’d imagine they’ll be hiring for all positions, right?

anyway, dig the blog and thanks! V”

V- Thanks for the nice feedback. Happy to hear that not everyone thinks my blog is in poor taste. I’ve heard that media positions will not be available in Austin as WPP plans to keep those spots in NY. Something about keeping all those current/deep ties alive and not try to rebuild relationships.

Readers- Anybody know anything about where to see/apply for Da Vinci job openings? Please post via a comment.

Thanks and happy Thursday to all.

Da Vinci – Not interested in award winners

Here’s a piece of an article recently posted to the online version of the
Austin American Statesman regarding Dell/WPP’s Da Vinci (with my thoughts in parenthesis):
——-
The new agency in Austin will work with Mark Jarvis, Dell’s new chief marketing officer, and Casey Jones, vice president for global marketing, as well as and Dell’s worldwide marketing and communications teams in Round Rock and elsewhere.

The approach of creating an agency geared toward one large client created some consternation in the advertising industry (of course it did, along with layoffs), but it also sparked a heated and closely watched competition for Dell’s advertising business. WPP eventually beat out Interpublic Group of Cos. (I wonder if Interpublic will be thankful for the loss in the near future), the other finalist for the account.

The project to consolidate Dell’s advertising and marketing into one agency account was spearheaded by Jarvis (What’s the average tenure of CMOs these days?). Dell had set out to create an advertising partner that would “spend 100 percent of their time thinking about our customers (I guess someone has to think of Dell’s customers), rather than how they will get the next assignment,” according to an entry by Jarvis on http://www.direct2dell.com, the company’s official blog (Who outside of Dell reads the blog?).

Rather than looking for talent focused on nabbing industry awards for their creativity (ok so maybe the title of this post should be – Da vinci – Not interested in award winners or creatives), Jones said, “we want people who get up and come to work every day at the agency for the same reason we do: to create success for Dell. (I won’t mention the ~successful~ Dell MP3 player)”
——-

Want the scoop on the T3 layoffs?

I just got word that, Austin-based ad agency, T3 (The Think Tank) laid-off some folks yesterday. This has got to be connected to Dell’s move to WPP’s Da Vinci (some say the new agency will actually be named Schematic).

From my “insider”: “Lots of people got canned yesterday. Pretty juicy stuff.”

Here’s what I’ve found out so far:

Reason for layoffs? “Due to the Dell account loss.”

How many? “Over 20”

Who/ What roles? “Mostly Coordinators, but also one in PR.”

Any other interesting tidbits?
“Threatening talk of enforcing non-compete contracts i.e. ex-T3ers not allowed to work for another agency on Dell account and Gay Gaddis’ annual birthday party is still on.”

Who’s Watching Who #24

Here’s a Who’s-Who of folks that have contacted us and/or checked-out the blog
and/or called to praise/complain, and/or any combination thereof over the past week:

Charles B Travis Architects – Austin, TX
FODA Studio – Branding and Design – Austin, TX
ITD Consultants – Mechanical and Electrical services – UK
J Walter Thompson – arguably the world’s first advertising agency
Pictage – Wedding Photo related website – Torrance, CA
Vocus – On-Demand Software for Public Relations Management – Lanham, MD

Veteran Visitors who came back for more (and more and more):
BBDO – Ad Agency Network – Worldwide
Crispin Porter + Bogusky – Ad Agency – All over the place
Fatty Paws – Large Breed Dog Care – Santa Barbara, CA
GSD&M Idea City – Ad Agency – Austin, TX
Homeaway Vacation Homes – Austin, TX
Neiman Group – Ad Agency – PA
WPP Group – Agency Network – Worldwide

Been to the blog but don’t see your company on the list? Shoot me an email or post a comment. If you email us, make sure you send it from your company email account so that we know it is the real-deal. Let us know what you think and maybe share a bit of info. The ~worst~ that will happen is that you get a free link to your site. Not a bad trade for a bit of good SEO if you ask me. If you don’t know what SEO is then please email me sooner rather than later.

Who’s Watching Who 2007

Here’s the most notable folks that took a look at the blog and/or contacted me in 2007:

Abercrombie & Fitch – “All-American Lifestyle Clothing”
Adobe – Software Giant – Worldwide
American Community Newspapers – Multiple-location Publisher
Army – Be all you can be
Austin American-Statesman – “News”paper – Austin, TX
B&H Photo and Video – Say Cheese! – NY City
Bazaarvoice – Social Marketing – Austin, TX
Benefits Design – Employee Benefits Consultants – Austin, TX
BizJournals – Publisher of Business Journals – Nationwide
Bulldog Solutions – Lead Management and Optimization – Austin, TX
Callaway Golf – Golf Clubs and more – Carlsbad and Austin
Campbell Mithun – Ad Agency – Minneapolis, Mn
Circle 1 Marketing – Marketing Firm – Norwalk, CT
Crispin Porter + Bogusky – Ad Agency – Miami and Boulder
DDB Needham – Ad Agency – Worldwide
Dell – ~Great~ Computers – Austin, TX
Deloitte & Touche – Consultants – Worldwide
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians – North Carolina’s oldest residents
Farmers Insurance – like a good neighbor…oops wrong company
Graphlogic – Software Development – Branford, CT
Grey Group – Ad Agency – Worldwide
GSD&M The Idea City – Ad Agency – Austin, TX
Ice.com – Online Jewelry Retailer, OR
Intuit – Finance and Tax Software – Mountain View, CA
Leo Burnet – Ad Agency – Worldwide
LinkedIn – Online Networking – Mountain View, CA
Lockheed Martin – Aeronautics and more
Marcus Thomas – Ad Agency – Cleveland, OH
Marvin – Windows and Doors – What?
Matthew Mahon – Freelance Photographer – Austin, TX
McCann Worldgroup – Agency Network – Worldwide
McGarrah Jessee – Ad Agency – Austin, TX
MDC Partners – Agency Network – Toronto and New York
MediaVest – part of Starcom MediaVest Group – Worldwide
Microsoft – trailing behind Google as usual
Neiman Group – Addicted to Adomatica – PA
nFusion – Interactive Ad Agency – Austin, TX
Office Depot – Office Supplies – Nationwide and Online
Omnicom – You know these guys – Everywhere
Porter Novelli – PR Agency – Worldwide
Powerset – Natural Language Search – San Francisco, CA
Princeton University – Smart kids like us
Ramholtz Publishing – Lead Generation – New York
ReachForce – Market Research and Data Solutions – Austin, TX
Rob Levitsky – Manager of Deadhouses – Palo Alto, CA
Rubiconsoft – Owners of MyBuys.com – Redwood City, CA
Schlumberger Limited – oilfield services provider
Sematech – Semiconductor and emerging technologies – Austin, TX
Shift Communications – PR Agency – Boston and San Francisco
Sierra Trading Post – Outdoor Gear Retailer – Click and Mortar
Specialty Incentives – SWAG – Colorado and beyond
St. Edward’s University – Austin, TX
StaleLife – a collective of creatives – Austin, TX
T-3 – Ad Agency – Austin, TX
Texas State University – Southwest Texas State in my book – San Marcos, TX
The City of Austin, Texas
Tribal DDB – Digital Marketing – Worldwide
Twentieth Century Fox – Films etc – Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – this blog contains no asbestos
University of Texas – Hook ‘Em – Austin, TX
VI Technology – test data management solutions – Austin, TX
WebEx – Web Conferencing – Santa Clara, CA
Webtrends – Web Analytics Solutions – Portland, OR
Wieden+Kennedy – Ad Agency – Portland, Or
William Blair and Company – VC ($$$) – Chicago, Il
Winnipeg Sun – Newspaper – Winnipeg, Canada
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute – ocean science research – MA
WPP Group – Agency Network – Worldwide
WWAV Rapp Collins – Ad Agency – UK arm of Rapp Collins Group

Please do not hesitate to email me to let me know you are checking out the blog. The least I’ll do is give a free link in my weekly “Who’s Watching Who” post. Blog-based SEO is fun 🙂

The 869 to 1 Code

Dell just announced that it is set to spend $4.5 billion to set-up a new WPP Group advertising agency. The new firm, launching March 1st will be named Da Vinci and its goal is to crack the code of getting Dell back on top. The new agency will employe as many as 1000 once fully staffed according to reports. WPP already owns 250 agencies in 106 countries with 2000 offices and employees around 100K employees. Once fully functioning for Dell, the agency will be set free to go after other accounts. Interpublic Group was the other player vying for this opportunity.

Dell currently has business farmed out to 869 different firms. Mark Jarvis, Dell’s new CMO (What’s the average tenure of a CMO these days?) and Casey Jones, VP of Global Marketing, were two of the top executives leading the push for this change. The pair strongly believes that a single point of contact for all Dell’s activities will be a source of great results. This idea is met with mixed reviews from those in agency land.

The Austin American-Statesman article in regards to this story pointed out the fact that local/independent shop, T3, might lose a major client due to this change. T3 has counted Dell as one of its major accounts since the early ’90s. Jones was quoted, “Companies such as T3 will be able to pitch their work to Da Vinci which along with Dell’s team can award work to companies outside the WPP Group umbrella.” Gay Gaddis, President and CEO of T3, believes that due to long running relationship with Dell, their business is safe and that they will “still have a seat at the table”.

Why would Jones say that companies like T3 would be able to pitch their work to Da Vinci if T3 already had a seat at the table? I think a spot might already be reserved for GCI Group. This WPP owned firm already has an Austin-based office and is already working with Dell’s communications teams.

Who’s Watching Who #11

As on the previous nine Sundays, here’s a Who’s-Who of folks that have contacted us and/or checked-out the blog and/or called to praise/complain, and/or any combination thereof over the past week.

Leo Burnett – Ad Agency – Worldwide
Texas State University – Southwest Texas State in my book – San Marcos, TX

Veteran Visitors who came back for more (and more):
Crispin Porter + Bogusky – Ad Agency – Miami and Boulder
GSD&M The Idea City – Ad Agency – Austin, TX
Porter Novelli – PR Agency – Worldwide
Sematech – Semiconductor and emerging technologies – Austin, TX
Twentieth Century Fox – Films etc – Los Angeles, CA
WPP Group – Agency Network – Worldwide

Been to the blog but don’t see your company on the list? Shoot us an email or post a comment. If you email us, make sure you send it from your company email account so that we know it is the real-deal. Let us know what you think and maybe share a bit of info. The worst that will happen is that you get a free link to your site. Not a bad trade for a bit of good SEO if you ask me.