McKinney (advertising agency)
Encyclopedia
McKinney is an independent advertising agency based in Durham, North Carolina
. One of its most notable campaigns was Art of the H3ist for the launch of the Audi A3. The 90-day, interactive campaign earned Creativity Magazine’s Campaign of the Year , two Effies and a Cannes Lion. It would also win the inaugural “Best of Show” at the 2006 MIXX Awards sponsored by the IAB .
Brad Brinegar is currently chairman and CEO. Jeff Jones is president and Jonathan Cude is chief creative officer. Chief Strategy Officer Andrew Delbridge is also chairman of the 4A’s Strategy Committee and founding chairman of the Jay Chiat Strategy Festival, the first international festival for strategic thinking . In 2011, Jim Russell was named chief innovation officer and steers the McKinney Ten Percent, a program that encourages all McKinney employees to dedicate 10 percent of their time to innovation.
Alternate Reality Game
Where is my Gnome?
In 2003, McKinney became one of the first agencies to pioneer connection planning, which determines the most innovative and creative ways of bringing brands and people together in mutually beneficial ways.
In that same year, McKinney hired a group of interactive experts and injected them into the agency’s existing disciplines. (Today, 35% of the agency’s revenue comes from interactive activities, and 88% of frontline staff is actively engaged in interactive work.)
In 2004, McKinney moved from Raleigh to Durham and took over what is now 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) of vintage factory space on the American Tobacco Campus.
In 2006, McKinney combined its three strategic disciplines (account planning, connection planning and interactive strategy) into one strategic offering and named Andrew Delbridge, previously director of account planning, partner and chief strategy officer.
That year, the Cyber Won Report ranked McKinney seventh in the U.S. and 35th in the world for 2006 interactive awards.
In 2008, McKinney's management acquired 100% interest in the agency from Havas.
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. One of its most notable campaigns was Art of the H3ist for the launch of the Audi A3. The 90-day, interactive campaign earned Creativity Magazine’s Campaign of the Year , two Effies and a Cannes Lion. It would also win the inaugural “Best of Show” at the 2006 MIXX Awards sponsored by the IAB .
Brad Brinegar is currently chairman and CEO. Jeff Jones is president and Jonathan Cude is chief creative officer. Chief Strategy Officer Andrew Delbridge is also chairman of the 4A’s Strategy Committee and founding chairman of the Jay Chiat Strategy Festival, the first international festival for strategic thinking . In 2011, Jim Russell was named chief innovation officer and steers the McKinney Ten Percent, a program that encourages all McKinney employees to dedicate 10 percent of their time to innovation.
Campaigns
The Art of the HeistThe Art of the Heist
The Art of the Heist was an advertising campaign and an alternate reality game created to promote the Audi A3.-The promotion:Audi developed a new car and wanted to promote it...
Alternate Reality Game
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
Where is my Gnome?
Where is my Gnome?
Where is my Gnome? was a series of viral marketing ads used by Travelocity in early 2004. The ads consisted of a man named "Bill" looking for his garden gnome. On January 3, the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe had these ads on their publication. The ads were inspired by the travelling gnome prank...
History
Founded in 1969 by Charles “Chick” McKinney, the agency is now independently owned by a management team led by Brad Brinegar.In 2003, McKinney became one of the first agencies to pioneer connection planning, which determines the most innovative and creative ways of bringing brands and people together in mutually beneficial ways.
In that same year, McKinney hired a group of interactive experts and injected them into the agency’s existing disciplines. (Today, 35% of the agency’s revenue comes from interactive activities, and 88% of frontline staff is actively engaged in interactive work.)
In 2004, McKinney moved from Raleigh to Durham and took over what is now 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) of vintage factory space on the American Tobacco Campus.
In 2006, McKinney combined its three strategic disciplines (account planning, connection planning and interactive strategy) into one strategic offering and named Andrew Delbridge, previously director of account planning, partner and chief strategy officer.
That year, the Cyber Won Report ranked McKinney seventh in the U.S. and 35th in the world for 2006 interactive awards.
In 2008, McKinney's management acquired 100% interest in the agency from Havas.
External links
- McKinney.com McKinney website
- Five Words McKinney company blog