Publicis Communication has pulled the Optimedia name, a name for which it has worldwide rights, under its corporate umbrella.

Following the acquisition of bcp (now Publicis-BCP) of Montreal in the fall of 1996 and the more recent addition of smw (now Publicis-SMW) of Toronto, Publicis decided to take over the trademark and combine the media departments of the two agencies under the Optimedia Canada banner.

The result is a media operation with estimated annual billings of $150 million.

Rob Lawrie, president of Publicis-SMW, says for the past six years, FCB Canada has been using the trademark as part of an agreement stemming from an international relationship between fcb’s parent company, True North Communications, and Publicis that spanned from 1989 to 1995.

The True North-Publicis affiliation involved joint ownership of agencies around the world; the final terms of the division of the shared holdings were agreed to just late last year.

Since Publicis, which operates the other media divisions in its global network as Optimedia, did not initially have a North American presence, FCB Canada set up a unit with that name in 1992.

The founders of Optimedia in Canada, Sunni Boot, president, and Debbie King, senior vice-president and managing director of the Toronto office, are moving with the trademark to Publicis and keeping their current titles.

Pierre Arthur, vice-president and director of media services of Publicis-BCP, will become senior vice-president and managing director of Optimedia in Montreal.

There is no word on what clients, if any, might move to the new Optimedia Canada. However, at least one Publicis-SMW client has pulled its account due to a conflict (see sidebar story this page).

Lawrie says he presumes only international Publicis clients or those who feel connected to Boot and her team will make the move.

International Publicis brands L’Oreal and the Perrier Group are already with Publicis in Toronto and L’Oreal and Pratt & Whitney are with the Montreal office. Two other international Publicis clients, Nestle and Coca-Cola, are handled by fcb’s media division, now called TN Media.

FCB Canada has hired Kathie Shearer from ctv to replace Sunni Boot as senior vice-president, media director. Shearer, a 20-year media veteran, was most recently group vice-president, sales and marketing for ctv and was senior vice-president, national media director at McCann-Erickson (now MacLaren McCann) for 13 years before that.

TN Media, a name inspired by u.s.-based parent True North Communications, has been operated as a separate media unit by FCB Canada since 1996.