Wunderman Thompson

J. Walter Thompson was founded in 1864 by James Walter Thompson and traces its origins to the Carlton & Smith agency, one of the first known advertising agencies in the United States.[3]

J. Walter Thompson was acquired by WPP in 1987.[4] Its longstanding clients include Unilever, Mondelēz International, Kraft Foods, Kimberly-Clark, Nestlé, Kellogg's and Ford Motor Company. Other notable clients include HSBC, Johnson & Johnson and the United States Marine Corps.[5]

In 1958, Lester Wunderman, alongside his brother Irving Wunderman, and colleagues Ed Ricotta and Harry Kline, opened Wunderman, Ricotta & Klein (WRK).[6] Founder Lester Wunderman is widely considered,[7] to be the creator of modern-day direct marketing — a term he originated in a 1967 speech at MIT.[8]

Wunderman, Ricotta & Kline was acquired by Young & Rubicam in 1973.[9] To reflect the global expansions of the agency alongside then client American Express the agency became Wunderman Worldwide in the 1980s.[10] It then expanded its reach into the interactive, strategic and data-analysis fields.[7]

In 2018, WPP merged POSSIBLE and Cole & Weber with Wunderman Thompson Seattle to form a single digital marketing and advertising unit.[11]

In 1961, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) asked Wunderman Ricotta and Kline to become the first direct-mail agency to join its ranks symbolizing the advertising industries acceptance of direct marketing as discipline.[10]

Among the agency's early innovations are the Columbia Record Club, the 1-800 toll-free number for businesses (developed for a Toyota campaign, the United States Post Office campaign for Mr. ZIP[12] and the ZIP code, and the magazine subscription card.)[13]

A long-time relationship with American Express eventually led to the first customer rewards program—a breakthrough means of keeping customers loyal to a brand that has since transformed the travel and retail industries as well.[13]

In 2002, Wunderman won the inaugural Cannes Lions Direct Grand Prix.[14] Since then numerous members of Wunderman have served on, or acted as Cannes Lions juries chairmen including Daniel Morel and Eco Moliterno.[15][16]

• Phantasia: In January 2015, Wunderman acquired a majority stake in Phantasia, Peru's largest and most awarded digital agency.[17]
• Pierry, Inc.: In September 2017, Wunderman acquired a majority stake in Pierry, Inc. a marketing software integration and solutions company specializing in optimizing campaigns on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud.[18]
• The Cocktail: In June 2017, Wunderman acquired Spanish digital transformation consultancy, The Cocktail.[19]
• Pmweb: In January 2017, Wunderman acquired a majority stake in Pmweb Comunicação Ltda., a digital marketing specialist in Brazil.[20]
• 2Sales: In September 2018, Wunderman acquires Amazon-focused content and campaign agency, 2Sales.[21]