Palmer Jarvis Communications of Vancouver has added an interactive division called Area 51, bringing the number of specialized service companies it operates to eight.
Area 51 is headed by President Dave Schulz. Schulz was previously president of Vancouver Internet services company, Internet Direct.
Roger Ferguson has moved from Palmer Jarvis Advertising to Area 51 as vice-president.
Area 51 operates as both a creator and manager of Web sites.
Frank Palmer, president of Palmer Jarvis Communications, says Area 51 has gone from zero to a staff of 15 in four months and currently has 50 Web sites under construction.
He expects the division to house 30 people by the end of the year.
Some of the work already completed by Area 51 includes the launch of Orbitz, a Clearly Canadian beverage, with its own Internet site; the Information Canada site for the federal government; and a hockey pool site called Ice Picks.
Except for the federal government project, Palmer says all work the division has done so far has come from the Vancouver area. He expects it will soon be doing work for other Canadian markets and the u.s.
Although Palmer Jarvis offers services in a variety of disciplines, including direct, youth and interactive marketing, Palmer says he does not believe in putting all the services within a single company. Rather he likens the structure of his agency to a shopping mall.
‘You can go to the mall and choose a service and know you’re getting a specialist rather than a generalist.’
Palmer says clients might come to one of the company’s ‘stores’ for graphic design, and end up using the services of other divisions.
‘The various arenas are beginning to feed each other,’ says Palmer, adding that 50% of the company’s profits are coming from its subsidiaries.
The company has a staff of 165 in Vancouver, with more than 40 of them hired over the last 12 months.
