At a time when advertisers are struggling to reach consumers who are tuning out TV and other media, one buying firm has decided to readjust its operation.
Starcom USA promoted the firm’s veteran TV buyer, John Muszynski, to managing director of investment and operations. He will oversee all media buying activities, including print, and report to North American chief Renetta McCann.
In addition, McCann took the unusual step of hiring outside the company, naming Steven Fueling, former chief marketing officer at Kmart Corp., to an identical post at Starcom–a new position at the media agency.
The surprise hiring of Fueling–Starcom usually promotes from within–comes as McCann is looking to shake up the media-buying process. The changes are designed to respond to increased scrutiny from advertisers about how their marketing dollars are spent. They come at a time of widespread change in media.
Last year, broadcast TV’s surprise loss of thousands of male viewers–apparently to video games and the Internet–shocked advertisers.
They turned to their agencies for answers.
Over the past several years, media buyers such as Starcom have turned to reams of research to figure out where people are going.
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One offshoot of that research, for instance, was Starcom’s decision last year to open a unit to place ads in video games.
“I am very much interested in pushing the boundaries of our work,” McCann said. “In terms of getting that done, we’re putting a structure in place to more easily do that.”
McCann said she was impressed with Fueling’s track record, specifically the way Kmart launched and developed its exclusive Joe Boxer brand.
But she downplayed any potential internal fallout from his hiring. While she was looking to bring in someone with a “new perspective,” she said, “This shouldn’t be seen as any negative on the talent we have.”
Starcom, which handles huge media buying accounts for blue-chip clients such as Walt Disney Co., Kellogg Co. and Procter & Gamble Co., places about $7 billion in advertising annually.
The moves also come as speculation swirls that more significant changes in the upper ranks at Starcom MediaVest Group are forthcoming.
Though no changes have been announced, Starcom’s changes this week essentially put in place the next level of management should McCann and her boss, SMG CEO Jack Klues, move up, as expected.
Last month, Karen Jacobs, head of the company’s print buying unit, stepped down to spend more time with her family.
Hollinger Inc. to pay: Hollinger Inc., parent of Sun-Times owner Hollinger International Inc., said it will meet a March 30 deadline to make a $7.4 million interest payment on about $120 million in debt. The company sold 275,000 shares of its Hollinger International Class A stock.
Hollinger Inc., which is controlled by former Hollinger International CEO Conrad Black, last week refused a loan from Hollinger International to cover the interest payment because terms of the debt arrangement have significant constraints on how Hollinger Inc. could borrow money.
On the move: Chicago-based Golin/Harris International said it plans to open an office in Bangkok. Peter McIntosh, currently with Weber Shandwick’s Thailand office, will head the Golin/Harris office as executive director … Claudia Munoz-Rocha, formerly special news events producers supervisor for Telemundo, was named community relations manager for Telemundo’s WSNS-Ch 44.
Root opens store: Longtime high school portrait studio Root Studios opened its first retail outlet in Schaumburg. Known for its high school senior portrait business in the Midwest, Root, by opening a store at 601 N. Martingale Rd., marks a shift in business strategy. The 4,000-square-foot store is the first of several that the company plans to open.
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Jim Kirk’s Marketing and Media column appears Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Contact Jim at [email protected].