Marketing communications agency Lowe Campbell Ewald has promoted Kevin Wertz to president. In his new role, Wertz, who was previously managing director, will assume responsibility for the leadership of the agency’s Detroit (non-automotive) and San Antonio-based accounts. In addition, Wertz will oversee Lowe Campbell Ewald’s media, strategic planning, analytics, digital strategy and social media capabilities. He will split his time between Lowe Campbell Ewald’s Detroit and San Antonio offices, reporting directly to CEO Jim Palmer.
With more than 17 years of experience, Wertz has a proven track record of uncovering consumer insights, developing brand strategies and implementing large scale, national marketing campaigns. His work for Lowe Campbell’s USAA client began in 2009 when he played an integral role in winning the account and opening the agency’s first full-service office in Texas. Under his leadership for the past five years, the agency’s role with USAA has grown to include additional lines of business, and the San Antonio staff count has increased to more than 30 full-time employees.
Prior to his time with Lowe Campbell Ewald, Wertz served as VP, account director at Doner. Throughout his career he has worked with clients such as Food Network, AAA, Expedia, Progressive insurance and La-Z-Boy.
Other key promotions within Lowe Campbell Ewald include: Keith Clark being upped to managing director; Walter Harris to group management supervisor; and CFO Jari Auger taking on the additional capacity of COO. Clark will assume the lead role on the USAA account and will also assume responsibility for managing day-to-day operations in the San Antonio office. In his new role, Harris will be supporting Clark, leading the cross functional USAA team. And Auger has been with Lowe Campbell Ewald for nearly 20 years and will continue to work out of the Detroit office.
Canada orders TikTok’s Canadian business to be dissolved but won’t block app
Canada announced Wednesday it won't block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
"The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said.
Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information.
He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. He said the decision was based on information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada's security and intelligence community and other government partners.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of local jobs.
"We will challenge this order in court," the spokesperson said. "The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive."
TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny... Read More