The management of McKinney has acquired 100 percent interest in the Durham-based ad agency from Havas, the Paris-headquartered global advertising and communications services group, which encompasses such entities as worldwide networks Euro RSCG Worldwide and Havas Media.
Thus McKinney returns to the ranks of independent shops. “My hope is that with the move, McKinney’s clients will feel an even greater sense of entrepreneurial commitment to their success,” stated Brad W. Brinegar who remains chairman/CEO of the agency.
Joining Brinegar as partners and in constituting the board of McKinney are Jeff Jones, president; Andrew Delbridge, chief strategy officer; Joni Madison, COO; Jonathan Cude, chief creative officer; Tim Jones, CFO; Jeremy Holden, director of account planning; Doug Holroyd, director of connection planning; John Newall, group account director and director of strategic alliances; Janet Northen, director of agency communications; Jim Russell, director of digital strategy; and Ellen Steinberg, group creative director.
Founded in 1969, McKinney has created over the years such noted integrated marketing communications programs as Audi of America’s Art of the H3ist, Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome, the Polaris CEO Duel and the launch of the Sony Bravia LCD TV.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More