There’s just a hint that the troubled GPY&R group has bottomed out. The exit of Y&R Brands chief executive Russel Howcoft to Ten Network may have been seen as a smart move to jump from a troubled ship, but last year GPY&R started to reorganise and refocus around its city-based operations and management teams.
The problem child for years has been the Sydney office. Technically GPY&R has just 35 people left in Sydney, although it’s tricky one cover. In Sydney, the agency’s digital teams were drafted off to create the digital brand VML, which also took the digital staff from IdeaWorks. VML has 60 people in Sydney, but in Melbourne and Brisbane, digital is housed within GPY&R.
There does seem to be a bit of optimism in the management ranks, though. Jason Buckley has stepped up to chief operating officer and Ben Coulson has the only other national remit as chief creative officer. Everything now is city-based. There’s no question some of the creative work coming out of the group is impressive and keeps getting international recognition. Indeed, GPY&R is a lead player in the AdNews award tallies and a couple of recent wins has put some spring in its step.
Sourced from AdNews Agency Report Card, May 31 2013 edition.
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