Saatchi & Saatchi to shut down Gum…

Saatchi & Saatchi London is poised for a major shake-up, which is expected to see the closure of brand entertainment division Gum.

The move follows the recent arrival of Robert Senior as the UK chief executive of the Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon UK Group (SSF UK).

It is thought Senior will announce the details of the restructure at the agency later this week, as part of his strategy to turn around the struggling Saatchis’ London office.

Senior, who is in the process of recruiting a managing director to take responsibility for the London agency, will also name Paul Silburn as creative chief to partner Kate Stanners.

But it is not clear how the new structure will affect the roles of the executive director for growth and business development Adam Kirby and chief strategy officer Chris Chalk.

Sources close to the agency say that Gum, which was set up in 2005 by former Saatchi & Saatchi former chief executive Lee Daley is expected to be scrapped as part of the changes.

The division was set up to create content on six different platforms – music, gaming, film, events, talent and wireless – but it has failed to make an impact.

The restructure is also expected to increase its focus on the agency’s conflict shop Team Saatchi and its retail division Saatchi & Saatchi X.

Team Saatchi, was created in 1995 when Saatchi Business Communications and its group sales promotion arm Equator were merged. Saatchi & Saatchi X was launched in June 2004 to deliver in-store, below the line solutions.