ABR 2011: Razorfish

Bob Lord

Principal: Bob Lord, global CEO
Ownership: Publicis Groupe
Offices: 21 wholly owned globally; 9 in US
Subsidiaries: Razorfish Health

Capabilities

Razorfish, one of the largest interactive agencies in the industry, is focused on building tools that let clients gather and leverage marketing information regardless of the platform, says global CEO Bob Lord. The agency has pursued and executed lead-agency assignments, most notably its recent win of Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.

“That is hugely transformational for us as an agency,” says Lord. “For years, the question was: Can digital agencies actually lead a brand? Now we are in those positions.”

Accounts

Its major accounts include Microsoft, MillerCoors, Best Buy Co. and Mercedes-Benz. Business has split in thirds among new clients, existing clients and work for clients of sister Publicis Groupe agencies, says Lord. Razorfish lost the Kraft Oreo account and the media account of Capital One in 2010, but it added a series of technology and digital media accounts, including creative assignments for Sony and Intel.

Staff

Employee totals grew to 1,407 from 1,380 in 2009. The executive turnover that followed the acquisition by Publicis has mostly abated. The most notable staff departure in 2010 was David Friedman, president of the Americas, who left to join Sears Holdings as CMO. After its head
of social media, Shiv Singh, left to join PepsiCo, Razorfish built a new social team headed by Chris Bowler.

Performance

During the last year, Razorfish learned to adapt to its new parent company, Publicis Groupe, after years of working under Microsoft Corp. “We've looked at our core strategies around media and technology and figured out how to leverage those core strengths around [Publicis'] existing clients,” says Lord.