Envoy to buy U.K. ad agency
Aims to improve Canadian creative
Paul Brent
Financial Post
Publicly traded Envoy Communications Group of Toronto is close to buying London-based advertising agency Leagas Delaney to boost its operations in Canada and the United States, sources said.
The deal, expected as early as next Monday, would see the well-known British shop open a Toronto office and the possible disappearance of Envoy's Toronto ad agency, Communiqué Group, beset lately by hard times.
"They are aggressively searching for a senior creative team and someone on the management side to open the shop and I would think they would be closing Communiqué," said an executive at a rival agency.
Envoy refused calls for comment.
Envoy, displeased with the agency's poor performance, evidenced by the loss of two of its largest clients this year, Microsoft Canada Inc. and Toshiba of Canada Ltd., fired Communiqué's president and creative director Chris Stavenjord earlier this month. The linking factor may be Adidas since both Communiqué and Leagas Delaney work for the company.
Part of the Abbott Mead Vickers agency network for 12 years, Leagas Delaney became independent in 1998 with a £4-million ($8.8-million) management buyout. Besides offices in London, Hamburg, Paris and Rome, the agency has a presence in San Francisco, which would fit well with Envoy's current focus on technology and electronic marketing.
pbrent@nationalpost.com |
