Initiative (agency)

Initiative is a global media planning and buying agency that is part of IPG Mediabrands, the media buying arm of multinational holding company Interpublic Group of Companies.[2] Initiative's roots date back to 1970.[3]

Initiative
IndustryAdvertising, Marketing
Founded1970
Headquarters
New York, NY
Number of locations
Worldwide
Key people
Mat Baxter, Global CEO
Amy Armstrong, US CEO[1]
ServicesMedia planning and buying
ParentInterpublic Group of Companies (IPG)
Websiteinitiative.com

The company is based in New York, NY, with additional offices worldwide.[4] Mat Baxter is the company's Global CEO, and Amy Armstrong is US CEO.[1]

History

One of the two main predecessors of Initiative, Western International Media, was founded in 1970 by Dennis Holt. It was one of the first agencies dedicated exclusively to media buying.[3]

In 1986, Western International Media won The Walt Disney Company account, a watershed moment in its history.[3] It would keep the account until 2001.[5]

In 1994, the company was acquired by Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG).[3]

In 1998, IPG combined Western International Media of Los Angeles with IPG's European media buying network, Paris-based Initiative Media Worldwide. The new combined agency was called Western Initiative Media Worldwide.[6] The NY Times reported at the time that the new entity would have 75 offices in 35 countries, and handled an estimated $10 billion in billings, making it the largest media buying agency in the world.[7] The company's US business was managed out of Los Angeles, and the international operations were managed out of Paris.[7]

In February 2000, the company changed its name to Initiative Media.[8] In July, Initiative Media acquired PIC TV, at the time the largest source of promotional TV advertising spots in the United States.[9]

In January 2017, IPG merged its third largest media buying network, Brand Programming Network (BPN), with Initiative Media, which was at the time IPG's second largest media buying network.[10] In November, ecommerce company Amazon selected Initiative to manage global media planning and buying for Amazon's ecommerce hub, tech products and Amazon Prime subscription services.[11] Also in November, Danish toy company The Lego Group selected Initiative as its global media agency.[12]

In April 2018, Amazon also awarded its Amazon Studios business to Initiative.[13]

In February 2019, Initiative was named as the media agency for gaming company Nintendo.[14] Also in February, the agency was named trade publication AdWeek's Media Agency of the year.[15] In April, trade publication Ad Age named Initiative its comeback agency of the year.[16]

Global offices

Initiative is based in New York City, and holds additional offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.[4]

Clients

Initiative's media buying clients over the years have included Amazon, Walt Disney Company, The Lego Group and Nintendo.[13][3][12][14]

Cultural velocity

The agency created the concept of "cultural velocity", a measure of cultural relevance that refers to the speed with which the agency's customers respond and react to cultural data, in order to remain relevant to consumers and improve sales.[17]

gollark: But does it have AVX?
gollark: The source code still all has whitespace, but the output is significantly less whitespacey than it used to be!
gollark: Also the CSS is compiled differently but that's irrelevant.
gollark: Also, the HTML is minified too.
gollark: The JS is now minified! Partly!

References
  1. "Converse taps Initiative for global media work". adage.com. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  2. "IPG Mediabrands to Fold BPN Worldwide into Initiative". adweek.com. 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  3. "Media Buying and Planning: Western International Continues as Media Leader: Burgeoning Media Industry Vindicates Holt's Novel Idea". adage.com. 1998-08-03. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  4. "Company Overview of Initiative Media Inc". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  5. "Initiative Withdraws From Disney Review". adweek.com. 2001-12-20. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  6. "IPG Mediabrands to Fold BPN Worldwide into Initiative". latimes.com. 1998-10-06. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  7. "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; Interpublic Combines 2 Media Service Units". nytimes.com. 1998-10-08. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  8. "Western Initiative Media announces a new name". adage.com. 2000-02-21. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  9. "Initiative Buys PIC TV". adweek.com. 2000-07-17. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  10. "IPG Mediabrands to Fold BPN Worldwide into Initiative". adweek.com. 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  11. "Amazon Consolidates Its $1 Billion-Plus Global Media Buying Business With IPG Mediabrands". adweek.com. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  12. "A 'Digital-First' Agency for an Analog Toy: Lego Taps Initiative for Global Media". adage.com. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  13. "Initiative L.A. Wins Amazon Studios Media Business as IPG Consolidates the Larger Amazon Account". adweek.com. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  14. "Nintendo taps Initiative as media agency in the U.S." adweek.com. 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  15. "Inside U.S. Media Agency of the Year Initiative's Remarkable 2018 Turnaround". adweek.com. 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  16. "Ad Age 2019 Comeback Agency of the Year: Initiative". adage.com. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  17. "The kids are all right: Gen X rules Initiative's reverse upfront". adage.com. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
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