On paper it’s the biggest media agency in terms of billings in the country, and the man behind the brand, Harold Mitchell, is potentially the most influential media buyer in the game. But at the moment the market’s view of Mitchell & Partners is slightly confused, and everyone is waiting on tenterhooks to see what will happen in the wake of Dentsu’s acquisition of Aegis.
The Dentsu takeover has already set the wheels of change in motion at the senior levels of Aegis, with Stuart Mitchell resigning from his role as deputy chairman in May. But how the takeover will trickle down to Mitchell & Partners remains unclear. Mitchell speaks about “business as usual” on a regular basis, but the agency has been in a state of flux for some years now.
Following the Aegis takeover of Mitchell Communication Group in 2010, the market saw the prominence of the Mitchell & Partners brand diminish, as Aegis sought to place a heightened emphasis on global brands Carat and Vizeum. That’s not to say the Mitchell & Partners brand has disappeared – far from it – but the fluid movement of staff and clients between agencies means it can be difficult to know where Mitchells begins and Carat and Vizeum end.
Sourced from AdNews Agency Report Card, May 31 2013 edition.
