Performance drives BLM restructuring

BLM Group, the independent media and marketing agency, is restructuring to put “neutral planning” at its heart, and is to position itself as a “performance agency”.

The planning division has been beefed up to become its strategic and creative hub. It will lead the agency operations and the specialist units including its digital arm Quantum, children’s division Azure and luxury arm Red.

It is also ramping up its digital credentials and is investing in a digital centre of excellence that will operate across every channel in the sector including search engine marketing, brand building online, social networking solutions and user-generated content.

It follows the appointment of Gavin Reeder, who joined as head of digital strategy from Yahoo! earlier this year.

The agency has carried out the restructure because it believes the industry is failing clients through its obsession with return on investment and commoditised, heavily discounted buying arrangements.

BLM chief strategic officer Charlie Makin says: “This is a really big issue in terms of media. The way agency deals work mean clients buy a lot of waste; cheap media can be a false economy. You can’t just buy it cheaply, it has to be about planning and performance.”

He adds that clients should sometimes be advised to spend less on media.

BLM chief executive Steve Booth says: “We have to think performance in every aspect of the business. It’s what we as an agency, and industry, need to focus on.”