Wunderman

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).

Wunderman
IndustryAdvertising, Digital Marketing
FateMerged with J. Walter Thompson to form Wunderman Thompson
SuccessorWunderman Thompson
Founded1958 (New York City)
FounderLester Wunderman
HeadquartersNew York City, New York
Key people
Lester Wunderman (Founder)
ParentWPP

On November 26, 2018, WPP announced it was merging Wunderman with the world's oldest 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 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]

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.[14]

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[15] and the ZIP code, and the magazine subscription card.)[16]

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.[16]

In 2002, Wunderman won the inaugural Cannes Lions Direct Grand Prix.[17] 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.[18][19]

References
  1. "WPP Will Merge J. Walter Thompson With Wunderman to Form Wunderman Thompson – Adweek". www.adweek.com. 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  2. "J. Walter Thompson & Co. and the 1964 Advertising Age Commemorative Issue". American Marketing Association New York. 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  3. "Lester Wunderman, Direct Marketing Pioneer and Original 'Mad Man,' Dies at 98". AdWeek. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  4. Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay, 2nd Edition, Pages 147-151, 2004, The Direct Marketing Association
  5. "Lester Wunderman, Father of Direct Marketing, Dies at 98". NY Times. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  6. "Wunderman (Wunderman Cato Johnson)". Adage. 2003-09-15. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  7. "Wunderman Buys Major Stake In Digital Marketing Agency Phantasia In Peru". RTT News. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  8. "WPP's Wunderman Buys Majority Stake In Brazil Digital Agency Pmweb". Morningstar. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  9. "WPP's Wunderman picks up digital agency The Cocktail". The Drum. 2017-06-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  10. "WPP Is Combining 2 of Its Agencies, Possible and Wunderman, to Form a Digital Powerhouse". Adweek. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  11. "Wunderman takes majority stake in Pierry to build out Salesforce capabilities". The Drum. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  12. "Wunderman acquires 2Sales to bolster Amazon planning and commerce capabilities". The Drum. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  13. "WPP Reveals Branding for Its Newly Merged Brands Wunderman and Thompson". MarTechSeries. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  14. "Lester Wunderman, 'father' of direct marketing, dies at 98". Adage. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  15. Smithsonian National Postal Museum Mr. ZIP
  16. "Marketing Legend Lester Wunderman Live on 'The Alan Levy Show'". Alan Levy Show. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  17. Campaign, Harrison Bows Out of HTW by Kate Nettleton, May 24, 2007
  18. Adweek, Daniel Morel, CEO, Wunderman Worldwide, Jury President, Direct Lions, by Kristen Rountree, June 17, 2003
  19. "Eco Moliterno, da Wunderman, será jurado no Festival de NY" (in Italian). Portal Imprensa. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
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