BMP

Boase Massimi Pollitt (BMP) was founded by Martin Boase, Gabe Massimi, and Stanley Pollitt. All three men worked at Pritchard Wood Partners, a company, who at the time was part of the Interpublic group, and had blossomed during an advertising creative boom. Although the trio attempted to purchase Pritchard Wood, Interpublic hesitated at their request, and so they instead created BMP along with the help of seven of their colleagues. (Foster, 1988)

After creating BMP, the main goal of the founders was to gain a piece of the Cadbury account that they had previously worked on at Pritchard Wood. Large sums of money had been invested in creating BMP, and the trio knew that they had to gain exposure quick if they wanted to survive in the advertising world. Boase, Massimi, and Pollitt also realized that they had to "match the creative standards being produced" at their competitor's agencies. To gain name exposure, "BMP" was emblazoned on the side of minis, which were driven around London. Additionally, Martin Boase also used his charm and solid relationships with area journalists to convince them to write positive words about the new agency. (Foster 1988)

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/new/reviews/photos/index

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/572903.stm

Boase and Pollitt were patient concerning the growth of BMP, but Massimi, an American and the creative director, left the company. He was replaced by another former Pritchard Wood employee, John Webster. Soon thereafter, John Harvey, Cadbury's marketing director, decided to give BMP a go on the account. The breakthrough for BMP came when Webster created the "Martians" campaign for Cadbury's. Webster felt it was so successful because "it was the first ad for a convenience food to express its benefits in its own terms rather than imitating 'natural' qualities." (Foster 1988)

The innovative creative work was paired with the account planning department to create a successful string of ad campaigns produced by BMP. Pollitt installed the account planning department when BMP was founded. Clients had faith in the account planning department because "it had been demonstrated to them that they [the ads] were a bang on strategy, however odd they seemed." (Foster 1988).

The decade of the 1970's started off well enough. David Batterbee and Chris Powell were installed as joint managing directors of the company. John Webster's creative department grew with fresh and flourishing talent. Then Boase and Pollitt sold half of the agency to Univas, even though the management was split on this decision at the time. Boase claimed that they did not want BMP to go public, and partnering with Univas seemed like the best alternative at the time. However, soon after the move to this partnership, BMP lost some crucial clients, employees started leaving, and Stanley Pollitt passed away from a heart attack. Boase, afraid of loosing control of BMP completely, decided that the best move was to buy out their contract with Univas for Pounds 1.2 million and go public with the agency. (Foster 1988)

BMP-DDP

In 1989, BMP decided to put itself on the market and allowed large advertising conglomerates to bid for ownership of the agency. DDP Worldwide, a company of the Omnicom Group, bought BMP for $200 million.

Omnicom Group, which was founded in 1986, "is a strategic holding company that manages a portfolio of global market leaders." Omnicom has three global advertising agency networks, including BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide, and TBWA Worldwide. "DDB Worldwide is the second largest agency network in the world and the second largest agency network in the United States based on consolidated gross income." (www.omnicomgroup.com) Currently DDB Worldwide operates 206 offices in 96 different countries worldwide. The current "battle cry" for DDB Worldwide is "BetterIdeasBetterResults®." The company believes in the "transforming power of better ideas moves our clients and their brands to new and better places." (www.ddb.com)

Initially, the buyout of BMP by DDB Worldwide resulted in some unhappy clients. At least three companies defected right away and others contemplated ending their relationships with their respective agency. (Levin and Murrow, 1989). However, today, BMP DDB has become one of the UK's leading advertising agencies. Since their launch in 1989, BMP DDP has won three times more awards than their rivals. In 2000, in a "C4/Sunday Times" poll, 16 of the nation's top 100 ads were produced by BMP DDB. Just recently the agency was named the world's most creative agency at the Clio awards in the US. (www.bmpddb.com)

Discover some of the awards that BMP DDB has been winning over the years.