Director Ira Rosensweig has opened Wavemaker Creative in Hollywood, Calif., with executive producer Tracey Karka. Rosensweig is probably best known for directing last year’s Mike’s Harder Lemonade campaign and the zombie spoof for Neighbors 2 starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron….
Alex Blum has launched Blum Consulting Partners, a business consulting firm that specializes in marketing execution and process optimization. Many may associate Blum with his days as co-owner of Headquarters, or his three terms as chairman of the AICP, but for the past six years he has been working on the consulting side of the business in strategy and innovation for Fortune 500 clients. The new venture supports brands, agencies and content creators through market evolution by offering a road map for business transformation and better process. Blum’s work in the advertising business spans several decades of producing award winning work as well as a short stint at Lintas, Paris. Blum also produced two feature films with then directing partner John Moore while the two were under a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox (Behind Enemy Lines, 2001 and Flight of the Phoenix, 2004). Joining Blum at Blum Consulting Partners is Andrea Ruskin, formerly VP brand executive producer at a large production consulting firm where she ran several Fortune 100 company accounts and initiatives. Prior to starting her career as a consultant, Ruskin worked for several production companies as EP, head of production and bidder, including Headquarters, where Ruskin and Blum met. Blum Consulting Partners is designed as a core team of experts with a deep bench of resources and relationships to draw from as-needed for particular expertise. The company is based in Los Angeles with resources in San Francisco, NY, Chicago and London….
RKCR/Y&R has rebranded to Y&R London. In 2016, the Y&R network had an impressive year, moving up to #3 Global Agency Network at Cannes Lions, winning 99 Lions. Regionally, Y&R Europe was awarded Most Effective European Agency Network at the Effies. The London office appointed a new management team of Jon Sharpe as CEO, Jonathan Burley as new CCO and Emily James as new chief strategy officer and won new clients including Premier League, Lombard Odier, Chanel, Visit England and was re-appointed to the Government Communications Roster. David Patton, the new global president of Y&R, said: “This is a small but important step change for the agency. For Y&R to succeed at a global level it’s imperative that we have a successful London agency that has a strong global profile and is tightly integrated into our network”…
