Creative agency Lowe & Partners Worldwide and DraftWorldwide are aligning their services across the globe. The new offering will be known as Lowe + Draft.
They are not merging operations. As sister agencies in the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), Lowe and Draft will continue to operate as separate brands to maintain their specialist credientials, according to a company statement. DraftWorldwide is a full-service marketing agency.
Howard Draft, will take the role as chairman of Lowe + Draft, while continuing as CEO of DraftWorldwide. Jerry Judge, while retaining his title as CEO of Lowe & Partners, will take on the job of CEO of the new entity. Ray Fagan will serve as the CFO for Lowe + Draft.
For shared clients, a new unit named Plus has started up, which will provide the “unifying bridge” between the two organizations, according to the statement.
Based in New York, Plus is led by Steve Harty, who is the co-founder and CEO of the Merkley Newman Harty ad agency. Harty joined IPG in January.
“Integration too often has referred to the process of executing creative ideas,” said Harty in a statement. “But in our industry’s rush to integration, all too often we settle for lowest common denominator creative solutions and virtually identical executions.”
Lowe + Draft will be different by developing “one brilliant strategic and creative idea to rally around,” and then provide work across channels, according to the statement. Then, instead of creating look-alike messages across channels, the new entity will “unleash the power of each individual discipline to build sales.”
There is precedent for this move. Lowe and Draft merged in the U.K. last year to create Draft London. Shared clients include HSBC, Saab and Flora. The two agencies are also collaborating on work for a number of other clients, including Starwood Hotel’s regional Asia-Pacific business and Unilever Bestfoods in the Netherlands.
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