Alcone Marketing Group has bought promo agency The Marketing Partners and is reuniting its four divisions.
Alcone split its services into four units (Alcone Promotions, Alcone Fulfillment, Alcone Digital and Alcone Merchandise) about 15 months ago (P&I Oct. 8, 2004). Now it brings them back together under one umbrella, Alcone Marketing Group, with the promotions group at the center, serving as clients’ single contact and tapping services across the agency.
That provides better integration for clients including Pernod Ricard, Heineken and Unilever, said Alcone President Bill Hahn.
“Promotion was fueling the other disciplines,” Hahn said. “We decided to focus [our structure] on the clients more than our offerings.”
Hahn becomes CEO of Alcone Marketing Group in January 2006; current Chairman-CEO Matt Alcone will keep the title of chairman. Division heads Robb Romano (fulfillment), Steve Wallace (digital) and Ray Damiano (merchandise) stay with Alcone.
Meanwhile, Marketing Partners will keep its name and current Irvine, CA, office space for now, but will “eventually migrate into the Alcone brand,” Hahn said.
The shop, with net revenues between $3 million and $7 million, brings to Alcone 12 to 15 staffers and a roster of long-time clients including ConAgra, Chicken-of-the-Sea, Authentic Specialty Foods, Kenwood, Ready Pac, and WD40 Household Cleaning Products. There are no conflicts with current Alcone clients.
Marketing Partners President Dory Ford keeps her title and reports to Hahn. The Hunt-Wesson veteran formed Marketing Partners in 1987.
“We saw a major void— therefore, a major opportunity— have a stronger presence on the West Coast, where our operations aren’t as focused on promo marketing,” Hahn said. “We like the entrepreneurial spirit of Marketing Partners, and hope to infuse some of that in Alcone.”
Alcone— of Omnicom’s Diversified Agency Services division— to shop, especially for expertise in new media technology and varied activation platforms “that invite consumers into brands, with more consumer pull than product push,” Hahn said.
