After a year in which Ammirati Puris Lintas' direct marketing creative group has nearly tripled in size, the two-woman team that heads the department has been recognized with a promotion.
Shelley Lanman and Carole Weitz have been promoted to executive vice presidents and managing directors of direct marketing creative from senior vice presidents and group directors.
The creative group that Lanman and Weitz oversee has swelled to 40 people from 14 a year ago, in large part from winning the Ameritech account last summer.
“Ameritech has really been the main reason for the growth. It's been a tremendous piece of business for us,” said Lanman, who noted that extra staff was needed for the increased work the agency has done for Compaq Computer, a client since 1992.
Lanman and Weitz joined Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York, three years ago. They came from OgilvyOne within a few months of each other but had not been partners there.
Since they took over the department, the agency also has won an Ortho Pharmaceuticals account and has continued to run campaigns for United Parcel Service and Lego.
Although two-person teams running creative departments may not be standard in the industry, they are commonplace at Ammirati Puris Lintas.
“Just about all of our chief creative officers are teams here. It's part of a tradition at Ammirati because that's the way you work, in a team,” Lanman said. “We run the department jointly. I specialize in copy writing, and Carole is the art director. But ultimately we are responsible for the creative output of the department.”
For Lanman and Weitz, branding is their signature.
“Direct marketing is just as much a part of a company's brand as a 30-second commercial or a print ad,” Lanman said. “We try to stay rooted in the brand of the client so that when you see something from Ameritech you would recognize it and know where it comes from.”
