Wunderman
Industry | Advertising, Digital Marketing |
---|---|
Founded | 1958 (New York City) |
Founder | Lester Wunderman |
Fate | Merged with J. Walter Thompson to form Wunderman Thompson |
Successor | Wunderman Thompson |
Headquarters | New York City, New York |
Key people | Lester Wunderman (Founder) |
Parent | WPP |
Wunderman was a New York City-based global digital agency. It was part of Young & Rubicam Brands and a member of international advertising group WPP Group (NYSE: WPP).
On November 26, 2018, WPP announced it was merging Wunderman with ad agency J. Walter Thompson to form Wunderman Thompson, and the merger was formalized in February 2019.[1][2]
History
In 1958, direct marketer Lester Wunderman, alongside his brother Irving Wunderman, and colleagues Ed Ricotta and Harry Kline, opened Wunderman, Ricotta & Klein (WRK).[3][4] Founder Lester Wunderman is widely considered to be the creator of modern-day Direct Marketing—a term he first used in 1961.[3]
In 1973, Wunderman, Ricotta & Kline was acquired by Young & Rubicam, at the time the world's largest ad agency.[3]
In the late 1980s, the group became Wunderman Worldwide.[5]
In 1992, the company merged with Cato Johnson to become Wunderman Cato Johnson.[6]
In 2000, the firm became part of WPP's $5.7B acquisition of parent Young and Rubicam.[3]
In August 2012, Wunderman launched a joint venture named PT Wunderman Pamungkas Indonesia.
In January 2015, Wunderman acquired a majority stake in Peruvian digital agency Phantasia.[7]
In January 2017, Wunderman purchased a majority stake in Brazilian agency Pmweb Comunicacao Ltda.[8] In June, the company acquired Spanish digital agency The Cocktail.[9] In July, Wunderman and fellow WPP agency POSSIBLE were merged to form a digital marketing and advertising unit. The POSSIBLE brand was to remain separate, but would answer into Wunderman.[10] In September, Wunderman took a controlling stake in Pierry, a US-based company that specialized in marketing campaigns for Salesforce Marketing Cloud.[11]
In September 2018, Wunderman acquired online retailer Amazon-focused content and campaign agency, 2Sales.[12]
In the first quarter of 2019, Wunderman merged with America's first advertising agency J. Walter Thompson Co., founded in 1864, and unveiled its new identity as Wunderman Thompson in February 2019.[2][13]
In February 2020, Wunderman Thompson announced the acquisition of leading marketing technology consultancy XumaK (with offices in Guatemala, USA and Colombia), in a move that further strengthens its martech and consultancy capabilities.[14]
Notable work
In 1961, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) asked Wunderman Ricotta and Kline to become the first direct-mail agency to join its ranks, symbolizing the advertising industries acceptance of direct marketing as a discipline.[15]
Among the agency's early innovations are the Columbia Record Club, the 1-800 toll-free number for businesses (developed for a Toyota campaign, the United States Post Office campaign for Mr. ZIP[16] and the ZIP code, and the magazine subscription card.)[17]
A long-time relationship with American Express eventually led to the first customer rewards program—a breakthrough means of keeping customers loyal to a brand, a program that also transformed the travel and retail industries.[17]
In 2002, Wunderman won the inaugural Cannes Lions Direct Grand Prix.[18] Since then numerous members of Wunderman (now Wunderman Thompson) have served on, or acted as Cannes Lions juries chairmen including Daniel Morel and Eco Moliterno.[19][20]
References
- ^ "WPP Will Merge J. Walter Thompson With Wunderman to Form Wunderman Thompson – Adweek". www.adweek.com. 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b "J. Walter Thompson & Co. and the 1964 Advertising Age Commemorative Issue". American Marketing Association New York. 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b c d "Lester Wunderman, Direct Marketing Pioneer and Original 'Mad Man,' Dies at 98". AdWeek. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay, 2nd Edition, Pages 147-151, 2004, The Direct Marketing Association
- ^ "Lester Wunderman, Father of Direct Marketing, Dies at 98". NY Times. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "Wunderman (Wunderman Cato Johnson)". Adage. 2003-09-15. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ "Wunderman Buys Major Stake In Digital Marketing Agency Phantasia In Peru". RTT News. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "WPP's Wunderman Buys Majority Stake In Brazil Digital Agency Pmweb". Morningstar. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "WPP's Wunderman picks up digital agency The Cocktail". The Drum. 2017-06-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "WPP Is Combining 2 of Its Agencies, Possible and Wunderman, to Form a Digital Powerhouse". Adweek. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "Wunderman takes majority stake in Pierry to build out Salesforce capabilities". The Drum. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "Wunderman acquires 2Sales to bolster Amazon planning and commerce capabilities". The Drum. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "WPP Reveals Branding for Its Newly Merged Brands Wunderman and Thompson". MarTechSeries. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
- ^ "WPP acquires marketing technology consultancy XumaK | WPP". www.wpp.com. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Lester Wunderman, 'father' of direct marketing, dies at 98". Adage. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ Smithsonian National Postal Museum Mr. ZIP
- ^ a b "Marketing Legend Lester Wunderman Live on 'The Alan Levy Show'". Alan Levy Show. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ Campaign, Harrison Bows Out of HTW by Kate Nettleton, May 24, 2007
- ^ Adweek, Daniel Morel, CEO, Wunderman Worldwide, Jury President, Direct Lions, by Kristen Rountree, June 17, 2003
- ^ "Eco Moliterno, da Wunderman, será jurado no Festival de NY" (in Italian). Portal Imprensa. Retrieved November 7, 2016.