Industry | Advertising, Digital Marketing |
---|---|
Founded | 1958 |
Founder | Lester Wunderman |
Headquarters | New York City, New York |
Number of locations
|
175 offices in 60 countries |
Key people
|
Mark Read (Global CEO) Lester Wunderman (founder) Lincoln Bjorkmann (global CCO) |
Parent | Young & Rubicam |
Website | Wunderman.com |
Wunderman is a network of advertising, marketing and consulting companies with offices in 60 countries. Headquartered in New York City, Wunderman is part of Young & Rubicam Brands and a member of WPP Group (NASDAQ: WPPGY).
In 1958, Lester Wunderman, alongside his brother Irving Wunderman, and colleagues Ed Ricotta and Harry Kline, opened Wunderman, Ricotta & Klein (WRK). Founder Lester Wunderman is widely considered, to be the creator of modern-day Direct Marketing—a term he originated in a 1967 speech at MIT.
Wunderman, Ricotta & Kline was acquired by Young & Rubicam in 1973. Subsequently; Y&R merged WRK with its subsidiary, Cato Johnson Associates, in 1992 forming Wunderman Cato Johnson.
To reflect the global expansions of the agency alongside then client American Express the agency became Wunderman Worldwide in the 1980s.
The agency was briefly renamed Impiric in 2000, before returning to its heritage and rebranding itself as Wunderman on June 1, 2001. Since then it has expanded its reach into the interactive, strategic and data-analysis fields.
In July 2016, Wunderman appointed Caspar Schlickum to CEO for the Asia-Pacific region starting September 2016.
In 1961, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) asked Wunderman Ricotta and Kline to become the first direct-mail agency to join its ranks symbolizing the advertising industries acceptance of direct marketing as discipline.
Among the agency’s early innovations are the Columbia Record Club, the 1-800 toll-free number for businesses (developed for a Toyota campaign, the United States Post Office campaign for Mr. ZIP and the ZIP code, and the magazine subscription card.)