Brunner News

Congratulations to BRUNNER client Susan Edwards of GlaxoSmithKline for being named as one of Ad Age's 2008 Power Players.

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

10/27/2008

Click here to download the article [PDF].

Beazer Homes Names Brunner Agency-of-Record

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

8/22/2008

Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA has named Brunner as its new advertising agency of record. Beazer's estimated annual marketing budget is in excess of $30 million. Brunner will provide services including strategy and planning, creative, media planning and buying, digital, direct, and promotion, and will work closely with Beazer's in-house team. Brunner began working with Beazer on a project basis earlier this year. The business was awarded without a formal review.

"I've had the chance to work with Brunner in the past," said Beazer chief marketing officer, Kathi James. "They are a good fit for our culture, and they have the strong strategic and creative capabilities we need right now to build our brand and drive traffic to the communities where we're building our homes. Most important, they have a track record for producing results for their clients, which was a key factor in our decision to award the business to them." Brunner began work immediately for Beazer's next campaign, which is scheduled to break in October 2008. Planning for 2009 is also underway.

"This is an exciting win for us," said Brunner CEO Michael Brunner. "It's a category and an audience we know well. More importantly, it's a category that both Beazer, and we, view as filled right now with opportunity. We look forward to helping Beazer continue to build its brand and grow its business."

With headquarters in Atlanta, Beazer Homes USA combines the capabilities of a national home builder with the knowledge and insight of the best local professionals. Beazer currently builds in more than 30 markets in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, West, and Central United States. For more information, visit www.beazer.com.

Brunner is Cannes Finalist

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT

6/30/2008

Advertising agency Brunner was named a finalist for an Outdoor Lion at the June 2008 Cannes Advertising Festival. An illustrated poster created by Brunner for client W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., Bradford, Pa., received a certificate as a short list finalist in the point-of-purchase (P-O-P) category.

In allegorical form, the poster suggests the decades that have passed since sweethearts first began using Case knives to carve their lovers' initials into a tree. The campaign's sole tag is, "since 1889," referring to the year the company was founded.

The Cannes Festival is considered by many to be the world's most prestigious creative award show. Over 26,000 entries, from 85 countries, were submitted.

Blattner Brunner trims name; expands ownership.

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT

6/9/2008

As of June 16, advertising agency Blattner Brunner will be renamed Brunner, and its digital marketing group, formerly bbdigital, will be renamed Brunner Digital. The change both acknowledges chairman and ceo Michael Brunner's sole ownership for the past 51/2 years, and also allows for new, broadened ownership going forward.

Simultaneously, Scott Morgan, Mary Kay Modaffari, and Petra Arbutina will make partner, becoming the agency's only other stakeholders besides Michael Brunner and, formerly, co-founder Joe Blattner, who sold back his shares in January, 2003. Mary Kay Modaffari, previously evp dir. of account management, is promoted to the new position of evp Pittsburgh managing director. Morgan and Arbutina retain their same titles: president and evp contact strategy, respectively.

Michael Brunner states: "Our agency is fortunate to have had the benefit of Scott's, Mary Kay's and Petra's dedication and commitment over the years, and I am proud to honor their contributions by making them, officially, my partners. I am also excited by what I believe this agency can further achieve under such a team of leaders. Although I enjoyed 'flying solo,' now is the right time to make this change. The combination of internal growth and the extraordinary fragmentation of the ad/marketing universe both say to me that future growth will depend on a broader skill-set than I alone can provide. I am thrilled to have found three dynamic partners from within our ranks."

Since 2003, under Michael Brunner's direction, agency billings have increased from $76 to $200 million, and staff from 73 to 200. The client roster now includes several national accounts with billings over $20 million each; in 2003, there were none over $5 million. The agency has opened offices in Atlanta and Washington D.C., and, since 2006, been on both Adweek's and Ad Age's Top 100 U.S. Agencies.

Local News Note:
Brunner will remain in its present location, 11 Stanwix St. The building's new owners have committed to significant upgrades to the property.