Chairman Kemp is next TBWA\\\\Manchester exit
After it was announced in the last issue of The Drum that BDH\\TBWA had made redundant it managing director Nick Brookes and joint creative directors Chris Lear and Gary Hulme, it has since emerged that TBWA\\Manchester’s chairman Martin Kemp has also left the group.
Details on the departure have not yet come to light and chief executive of the Manchester-based agency Robert Harwood-Matthews was unavailable for comment as The Drum went to press.
Kemp joined the TBWA group in 2002, when MKP - the direct marketing specialist he founded in 1990 - was acquired by the Manchester arm of the network agency. In 2005, MKP was merged with sister agency Tequila\\Manchester and Kemp became chairman for the new operation.
In April 2006, Kemp was appointed as chairman for TBWA\\Manchester as part of a major restructure for the agency. For the first time, all TBWA\\Manchester-owned agencies - BDH, Digerati, E-Graphics, Staniforth and Tequila - were placed under the group umbrella.
Kemp’s departure is one of several high-profile exits from the group over the last 12 months. It has not yet been revealed how the agency plans to restructure in the wake of the recent spate of redundancies.
Meanwhile, BDH has announced an extension of its work with car manufacturer Nissan that will see the agency support the pan-European retail marketing activity.
The Paris-based client conducted a six-month evaluation process, involving a number of European agencies.
BDH has handled Nissan’s national dealer marketing since 2001, supporting the firm’s 220 UK dealerships. However, the agency revealed its appointment for the pan-European account was part of a separate selection process.