GSD&M
| The GSD&M logo | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Advertising |
| Founded | Austin, Texas (1971) |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
Key people | Steve Gurasich, co-founder Roy Spence, co-founder Judy Trabulsi, co-founder Jim Darilek, co-founder Tim McClure, co-founder |
Number of employees | 400+ |
| Website | www.gsdm.com www.ideacity.com |
GSD&M Idea City is an advertising agency located in Austin, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1971 by graduates of University of Texas at Austin - Roy Spence, Judy Trabulsi, Tim McClure and Steve Gurasich. Since 1998, GSD&M has been part of the Omnicom Group.
The main office of GSD&M is located on 6th Street in Austin, across the street from the Whole Foods Market headquarters. Satellite offices are located in Chicago, Illinois and New York City, New York.
The agency was known as GSD&M until August 27, 2007 when it changed its name to GSD&M's Idea City.[1] "Idea City" was previously the name of the agency's Austin headquarters.
Clients
Notable current clients include: BMW, MasterCard, Hallmark, Southwest Airlines [2], the U.S. Air Force, the American Red Cross, the PGA TOUR, AARP, World Market, American Legacy Foundation [3], Kohler [4], Texas A&M [5] Marshalls [6], Popeyes [7], Norwegian Cruise Line [8] and John Deere. They recently added L.L.Bean to their roster in the Spring of 2008.
History
The agency started with local retail accounts and expanded to more regional work. In 1986, the agency created the Don't Mess with Texas anti-litter slogan for the Texas Department of Transportation.
In the 1990s GSD&M began to acquire more national brands outside of Texas and was regarded as a "creative hot-shop."[9] The agency relinquished Chili's, Dreamworks, Frito-Lay, Fannie Mae and UnitedHealthcare in 2006-2007. The agency's Omnicom sibling, BBDO, was given the lead on the AT&T account, although GSD&M still works on it.
On February 5th, 2009, Idea City founder Roy Spence will publish It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For. The book, co-authored with Haley Rushing, is a business book by Roy that suggests the key to high-performing organizations is that they have a purpose. Purpose, according to the book, is defined as “a definitive statement about the difference you are trying to make in the world.”
Idea City uses "Purpose-based branding" in its approach to their clients. [10]
Wal-Mart
From 1987 until 31 January, 2007, GSD&M was one of two agencies that held the Wal-Mart account. In October 2006, Wal-Mart moved its $580-million account to Draftfcb, but Draftfcb soon lost the account when, on 7 December 2006, Wal-Mart fired two marketing executives who had led the account review and initiated a second review, alleging that the executives had accepted gifts from the agencies under consideration. Draftfcb was not permitted to participate in the second review. GSD&M was invited to take part, but declined. "We helped build Wal-Mart from $11 billion in sales to $312 billion," said one of the agency's founders, Roy Spence, "We declare victory, and we are moving on."[11]
Trivia
The founders noted that their initials, which formed the company's name, could also stand for "Greed, Sex, Drugs, and Money", all of which could be factors in an advertising campaign. [12]
References
- ^ "Idea City: GSD&M Retools for the Future," Adweek Online December 27 2007. [1]
- ^ Chicago Sun Times, June 6th 2006. “Southwest has an edge in Rare Fight”.
- ^ http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=79507 MediaPost, March 31, 2008
- ^ All Business, GSD&M Goes for the 'Bold' for Kohler. http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/4122583-1.html
- ^ Hoover's "Site provides window into life at A&M" http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/news/detail.xhtml?ID=52465&ArticleID=200810120400KRTRIB__BUSNEWS__0075000000a3b9a0_MB&source_type%5B%5D=
- ^ AdWeek, “GSD&M Snares pair” http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/account-activity/e3ie4014cd99a43c45e582fc782c0451fd7
- ^ AdWeek, “GSD&M Snares pair” http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/account-activity/e3ie4014cd99a43c45e582fc782c0451fd7
- ^ “Norwegian Cruise Line Floats 'Unrestricted' Vacation Idea”, May 15th 2007. Brandweek
- ^ Imperato, Gina (1997). "Greetings from Idea City". Fast Company. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3ia48763163f8b981b43639760b99647cf GSD&M Finds Renewed 'Purpose'
- ^ Stuart Elliot, "Why an Agency Said No to Wal-Mart," New York Times 15 December 2006, p. C4.
- ^ Mark Morrison, "Herb Kelleher on the Record, Part 3," BusinessWeek Online December 24 2003. [2]