Sixteen months after subjecting the marketing world to a new word, New York City-based Impiric last week reidentified with its direct-marketing roots by changing its name to Wunderman.
The new moniker resurrects the shop’s ties to agency founder Lester Wunderman. Seeking to open the former Wunderman Cato Johnson to new lines of business and keep it from being typecast as a direct marketer, Impiric parent Young & Rubicam unveiled the new name in early 2000. But the move ended up confusing clients and hurting — rather than helping — brand-recognition. Branding efforts became even more difficult when Y&R was acquired by London-based WPP Group last year.
Executives say the agency has shifted monikers, but not its focus. “The Wunderman name just means more to people than anything else we could come up with,” admits David Sable, president-ceo of Wunderman New York. “This is a change that has been brewing for a while.”
Lester Wunderman will remain a consultant to the shop. The agency, No. 10 on the 2001 PROMO 100, employs 4,000 staffers in 80 offices in 40 countries. The agency posted net revenues of $197 million in 2000, up 3.7 percent from $190.1 million in 1999. Key clients include AT&T, Lincoln-Mercury, Sony, and Taco Bell.
Network
