Jacques Duval hints McCann-Erickson will make a major announcement this month concerning a hush-hush project that is expected to revitalize the agency.
Duval says that when the announcement is made, the strategy behind his appointment early last month as area manager of McCann-Erickson Canada will be clear.
In addition to his new role, Duval continues as chairman and chief executive officer of Quebec-based Marketel/McCann-Erickson and has also taken on the title of executive vice-president of McCann-Erickson North America, reporting to John Fitzgerald, the New York-based vice-chairman of McCann-Erickson North America.
In this new position, Duval is responsible for encouraging the McCann-Erickson family of agencies to work together, including McCann-Erickson Advertising of Canada (Toronto, Vancouver), Marketel/McCann-Erickson (Montreal, Quebec City), Foster Advertising (Toronto) and Harrod & Mirlin (Toronto.)
Duval’s ‘home agency,’ Marketel in Montreal, is also spearheading the Canadian side of McCann Interactive, a new service unit recently formed by McCann-Erickson Worldwide in New York.
The division, which will co-ordinate and build on the interactive tv projects now under way at agencies in the group, is headed by McCann-Erickson’s director of international media, Ron Pullem. Pullem has been named senior vice-president and managing director of the division.
Five McCann-Erickson offices in the u.s. and Marketel are working on interactive tv projects.
Alain Tardy, Marketel vice-president media services, says the Montreal agency is a natural to be involved with McCann Interactive because of its close proximity to Montreal-based Videotron, marketer and developer of the Videoway interactive system.
Three years ago, McCann-Erickson worked on a test project with Videotron and Coca-Cola, which allowed viewers to select commercials and enter contests using an in-house device during a televised concert by Quebec pop singer Celine Dion.
Tardy says this test was primarily for research and development, rather than marketing purposes.
