May 18, 2009

ABR 2009: WhittmanHart

Chad Ciesil

“We know that direct response is about generating a specific return. When working with our clients, we ask that they come to us with a measurable business problem, so we can take a media-agnostic, 360-degree approach to identifying the key marketing result we want to achieve and build in the appropriate key performance indicators.”
--Chad Ciesil, president

Digital agency WhittmanHart has had to change a lot since starting out as an IT consultancy in the mid-1980's. It didn't truly become an interactive agency until a merger in 2000, but since then it has become one of the largest independently owned digital shops. WhittmanHart sees its proprietary Persona process — which models customer segments — as its key strength.

Year founded: 1984

Headquarters: Chicago

Number of offices: Seven

Web site: www.whittmanhart.com

Major disciplines: Digital, search, interactive media

Key accounts: Harley-Davidson, Toyota Scion, St. Jude, LucasArts, Black & Decker

Biggest agency challenges: Winning digital budgets over from traditional spending and using them with a level of flexibility that keeps brands involved in a rapidly changing conversation with consumers; identifying technologies that enable a company to achieve its strategic goals, while ensuring that clients are comfortable with the approach; leveraging the social movement as part of integrated strategies for clients while meeting the demands of traditional ROI and direct marketing objectives.