In a bid to strengthen its retail focus throughout its worldwide network, Bozell Worldwide has bought Toronto agency Prism Communications through its Canadian arm, Bozell Palmer Bonner.
The move is the first of a series of changes at Bozell. Toronto is the prototype for the new Bozell Worldwide, with a New York retail division opening next month, followed by openings in other North American hubs.
In Canada, changes include the renaming of Bozell Palmer Bonner to Bozell Worldwide, Canada.
Prism Communications in Toronto is being merged into the agency as the Bozell Retail Group while the Montreal office will be known as Bozell Worldwide.
Liz Torlee, head of Bozell, will remain president and ceo of the company.
Elliott Ettenberg, founder, chairman and ceo of Prism has been given a new international role as chairman and ceo of Bozell Retail Worldwide.
In that position, he will be developing global business primarily out of New York and setting up Bozell Retail operations in offices around the world.
Ettenberg says one of the most exciting things about the acquisition is that Canadian philosophy, methodology and talent is being exported.
‘We’re going to do what everybody says they’re going to do, and that is to take Canadian talent and actually put it to work on business problems anywhere in North America,’ says Ettenberg.
The Prism staff roster remains intact except for Marty Rothstein, former president and ceo of MacLaren:Lintas, now MacLaren McCann, who joined Prism as partner and president last fall.
Because Rothstein’s expertise is in the packaged goods area, not retail, Ettenberg says Rothstein will work with the agency as a strategic consultant.
Ettenberg says Rothstein will be working with Bozell agencies in the u.s. to help them understand and execute Prism’s patented retail philosophy, which is based on psychographics.
David Smith, vice-president of client services at Prism, has been promoted to senior vice-president of Bozell Retail to manage the day-to-day activities of the retail arm.
Prism’s Atlanta office is closing and its president Warren Kornblum, former chairman of Toronto retail agency Kornblum International, is moving to New York as managing director, Bozell Retail.
Prism renamed its Holistic Advertising philosophy ‘Transactional Advertising’ for the u.s. market when it opened an agency in Atlanta, Ga. in August.
Ettenberg says it was decided at that time to change the terminology throughout Canada effective Jan. 1.
It was while looking for a u.s. media partner to handle u.s. placement for Atlanta, says Ettenberg, that the meeting with Bozell took place.
What he didn’t know was that the seeds for the acquisition had been planted a few months earlier when Torlee had presented Bozell New York with a position paper on the growth of Canada in which she made a retail acquisition a priority.
‘As a multinational, in order to survive and thrive in Canada, you have to have Canadian-based business, and that means retail,’ says Torlee.
‘Not all Canadian clients are retail but a large part of that mix is, so we have been working hard for some time to strengthen our retail capabilities. That’s hard to do when you are not known for retail to begin with,’ she says, adding the acquisition of Prism seems the perfect way for Bozell to achieve its ends.
Torlee says that more than 90% of Bozell Canada’s revenues come from Canada-only clients, with only a small percentage of the business coming from the global network.
There are no conflicts between the client rosters of Bozell and Prism. Combined billings of the agencies approach $100 million.
Bozell Worldwide, Canada and the Bozell Retail Group will move together into new offices March 1.
