AMV BBDO managing director Richard Arscott is leaving to join South African social media company Names & Faces, which produces an app giving basic info about people in an organisation or other community.
Among the accounts he worked on was Sainsbury’s which ended its near 40-year relationship with AMV this summer when it moved to Wieden+Kennedy. AMV is handling its forthcoming Christmas campaign.
The two events may be unrelated but AMV will be under pressure to cut costs post-Sainsbury’s. All the big holding companies, including AMV owner Omnicom, are under pressure anyway as global growth slows and clients put pressure on fees. Foreign-owned outposts in the UK are under particular pressure as the 18 per cent post-Brexit vote fall in the pounds reduces their earnings dramatically as they’re sent back to HQ.
In a C-suite world, where nobody’s quite sure whether you need an MD or not, such a position can leave you a tad exposed.
AMV CEO Ian Pearman says: “Richard has been a wonderful partner to me over the years as we’ve evolved the agency; a champion of the creative product and a pillar of strength in keeping the culture strong.”