Brann Worldwide will develop a separate marketing services division in the United States as part of an overall repositioning of the agency.
Brann is emulating its British operation that has a higher ratio of marketing services to agency communication assignments.
The restructuring implies that Brann will pay greater attention to targeting, data analysis, strategic planning, and consulting and research in an effort to understand how consumers buy and the ways in which they want to interact with marketers.
Brann also will strengthen its focus on the customer interaction process, including media and online media, e-mail marketing, call center management, field sales, merchandising services, fulfillment and direct mail.
“These are all the enablers behind the repositioning,” said David Finkel, president of Brann's North American operations in Wilton, CT.
Brann will invest more in proprietary research to help understand consumer-purchasing behavior on a sector-by-sector basis. Senior management positions are being restructured as well as created.
Brann, Deerfield, IL, last year reported billings of more than $2 billion. As a former direct marketing division of Snyder Communications, the shop is now part of Havas' Diversified Agencies Group, North America.
U.S. clients of Brann include IBM Corp., Fleet Boston, the Bermuda Department of Tourism, Pizza Hut, Johnson & Johnson, and Sears, Roebuck and Co.
“Traditionally, marketers have looked from a seller's standpoint and we realized that, based on the marketplace changes over the past several years, the customer clearly is in control of the buying process,” Finkel said. “So, it's really an orientation, but all the tools and processes have been in place over the years.”
