Doner Media

SOUTHFIELD, MICH. (December 21, 2009)

Doner has been selected as local media agency of record for the PGA TOUR’s Championship Management events.

News Facts

* Doner will develop and manage a full-scale media planning and buying program, integrating both traditional and digital media platforms.

* Media duties were previously handled directly or through various local agencies, according to the TOUR.

* With this move, the PGA TOUR is looking to optimize its media spend and expand its presence in the digital realm to further drive attendance to Championship Management events.

Championship Management Overview

* Championship Management is a department of the PGA TOUR that organizes and manages a combined 13 events on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour. These tournaments are high-profile events on both Tours, including THE PLAYERS Championship, The Barclays, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship and the World Golf Championships.

 Quotes

* “We’re delighted to partner with one of the world’s strongest brands, the PGA TOUR, and to help them achieve their goals of increasing event attendance and sponsorships. Increased attendance at TOUR events directly results in increased donations to local charitable organizations. Doner’s strengths in local market media planning and buying, for both traditional and digital media, make this an ideal partnership.”

-          Greg Clausen, EVP, and Chief Media Officer, Doner

* We recognized an opportunity to increase ticket sales, grow our fan database and ultimately grow our charity dollars. Doner brings a wealth of experience at the local level for both digital and traditional media and we’re looking forward to a successful partnership.”

-          Kent Simon, VP Marketing Services, PGA TOUR

About PGA TOUR

The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Its primary purpose is to expand the PGA TOUR domestically and internationally so as to substantially increase player financial benefits while maintaining our commitment to growth in charity and integrity to the game.

In 2009, the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour collectively consisted of 100 events staged in 35 states and in 11 countries.

In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant funds for local charities.  In fact, the three Tours have surpassed $124 million in 2008 and $1.4 billion in overall charitable contributions.  The PGA TOUR’s web site address is www.pgatour.com and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

About Doner

Doner, based in Southfield, Mich., is the largest independently owned advertising agency in the world, with approximately $2 billion in combined billings.  The agency has offices throughout North America, as well as in London, and does business in more than 30 countries for clients including Mazda, Amazon.com, The Coca-Cola Company, ADT, DuPont, The Coleman Company, Shell Oil and Sherwin-Williams.  A full-service, performance driven agency, Doner focuses on creating ideas that will have a demonstrable impact on its clients’ businesses.

Three years ago I created a vision of how the Agency should evolve so it would continue to compete successfully and grow in the coming decade.  It was a vision based on our long history of changing the destiny of brands through creativity. It meant bringing on new capabilities, new strengths, and investing in new tools. Most importantly, it meant establishing the right leadership team.

Today, we have that team in David DeMuth, Rob Strasberg, and Tim Blett. Each of them has been focusing his energy, intelligence, and creativity on re-imagining the Agency.

Today, we are living the vision from three years ago. We truly create ideas, not just advertising. Ideas that live in all media forms: traditional, digital, and social. Ideas that excite and incite as never before.

Today, the Agency has the strongest team in my memory of Doner, which spans 43 years.

The next chapter is ready to be written.

David, Rob, and Tim are purchasing the Agency. They are committed to continuing our heritage of creativity, our culture of independence, and our entrepreneurial spirit.

While I am moving on from the Agency this month, I am staying in Ann Arbor. I will continue to lead our very successful pro bono efforts for the Detroit Zoo and the American Kennel Club. Of course, I will always be available as a sounding board, consultant, or Agency historian for David, Rob, and Tim.

This is a very exciting time for all of us. I’ll cherish the friends I made at Doner and at our clients. I was always very fortunate to be surrounded by people I liked, respected, and thankfully, made me look good. I leave the Agency knowing it has never been in better hands, never been more capable, never been more creative, and never been more driven to succeed.

Thank you for everything you have done to make the Agency what it is and what it will be. I will miss all of you.

In the next two weeks we’ll ring in a new year, a new decade and a new era for Doner as we assume ownership, and more importantly, leadership of the Agency.

We couldn’t be more optimistic about the promise of what 2010 and beyond holds for the Agency. For us, it is the beginning of Doner’s next chapter and we are eager to share with you our vision for the future.

As your new Executive Committee, David will be co-CEO/president, Rob will be co-CEO/chief creative officer and Tim will continue as senior partner/president of our Newport Beach, Calif., office.

While Doner has been in business for more than 70 years, we will lead the Agency inspired by the mission that our founder Brod Doner created and that Alan and others brought to life so passionately every day. Together, we’ll keep it fresh, we’ll keep it exciting, and we’ll keep it moving forward. And, we’ll have some fun doing it. 

Soon, we’ll be sharing more about our plans for Doner and the re-imaging of the Agency: a new Web site; an even more aggressive business development initiative; enhanced strategic tools; new opportunities and learning experiences for our employees; and a deep commitment to making Doner a great place to work. Of course, this all will be in the service of bringing our clients ideas that have a demonstrable impact on their business and their brand.

Finally, we want to extend our sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude to Alan for all that he has done for Doner. We would also like to personally thank him for his insight, creativity, support and mentorship. Without it, none of this would be possible.

This is, indeed, a very exciting time for all of us. Let’s make the most of this incredible opportunity.

We look forward to telling you more in the New Year. Have a wonderful holiday.

Welcome to the new Doner.

David, Rob and Tim

South of the border the CMAs, usually means Country Music Awards. But this close to the land of the Maple Leafs, we know it means the Canadian Marketing Association Awards, which is even better, at least in our line of work.
 
While our US counterparts were noshing on the Thanksgiving leftovers last Friday, November 27th, our team in Toronto took home a bronze award at the 2009 Canadian Marketing Association Awards Gala for our “33 Keys” Alternate Reality Game we created to launch the 2010 Mazda3.
 
The CMAs are Canada’s most distinguished marketing awards and are revered by both clients and agencies alike. Our campaign was recognized in the automotive category, behind Subaru and Midas.
 
The CMAs are put on by Marketing Magazine, the top marketing magazine in Canada. So, these awards are entered by every crème de la crème agency and marketer across the country. 
 
Like all awards, this was truly a team effort. We are proud of our team for all of the hard work they put into making “33 Keys” a success, including Kyle Lin, Patricia McGregor, Brad Clarkson and the rest of the Toronto media team; Kathryn Long, Mike McGee and Dave Collis from the Brand Leadership Team; Justin Smith, Jason Jakubiak, Jim Ward, Laura Squillace and Rebecca Krug on the Creative and Interactive teams. Of course, we couldn’t do this without great clients like Mike Collinson and Domenic Santucci.

Watch out, next year we’re going for the Gold!