Advertising sales firm WorldLink LLC will sell all direct-response ads for the new Pac-12 Networks, a group of national and regional college sports TV networks covering the Pac-12 Conference.
During the first year of the agreement, programming will include 35 football games, 150 men’s basketball games and hundreds of events in other sports, including men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, baseball, swimming and track and field. Some games will air nationally while others will show in one of six regional networks within the conference, including the Pac-12 Los Angeles network, which spotlights USC and UCLA. Other regional networks cover the Bay Area, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and the Mountain States.
Toni Knight, chief executive at WorldLink on L.A.’s Miracle Mile, said a variety of advertisers are interested in the new networks, including vocational school ITT Technical Institute, acne treatment Proactiv, online auto insurer Esurance and identity-theft firm Lifelock.
“It’s a strong male audience, but advertisers who target women can also find success with the right sport,” Knight said.
WorldLink already sells ads for regional sports networks owned by Fox and Comcast, and other college conferences around the country. The company has about 70 employees in Los Angeles and New York.
Reaching Infiniti
JMPR Public Relations is the new PR agency for Infiniti in the United States. The Woodland Hills shop will manage media relations and provide strategic consulting for the car company as it expands its product line.
The agency will use lifestyle media to reach audiences for new Infiniti vehicles such as the JX, a seven-passenger luxury crossover SUV. JMPR will also help with the launch of the LE zero-emission sedan, which will go on sale in 2014.
JMPR specializes in automotive clients, including Bentley Motors, Airstream, Bugatti and Petersen Automotive Museum.
“Infiniti is entering an inspired era and we are so excited to be a part of it,” JMPR President Joseph Molina said in a statement. “We look forward to when we’re able to say, ‘We were there when it happened,’ which is exactly what we’ve done for international brands for years.”
OpenSky’s the Limit
After a competitive review, ad agency DW+H in Santa Monica has won the account for shopping site OpenSky.com in New York.
The site is less than 18 months old and has nearly 2 million members, who can receive advice from OpenSky’s fashion industry experts on apparel purchases.
DW+H campaigns will include traditional and digital media to drive consumers to the OpenSky site. The first commercials will break this month on national TV.
“DW+H’s proven expertise in driving people from offline to on- is exactly the help we’re looking for,” Adam Fawer, marketing director at OpenSky, said in a statement.
DW+H’s other clients include Hotwire, 21st Century Insurance and TrueCar.
Agencies & Accounts
SEO agency Cyberset in Canoga Park has hired Matthew Sartipi as marketing manager. Sartipi comes to Cyberset from TriCom Group International, a metals distributor in Las Vegas, where he was director of Southeast Asia business development. … Jerry Digney at Digney & Co. PR firm in Hollywood handled publicity for the unveiling of the Rainbow sculpture in Culver City on Oct. 1. The arc, 94 feet tall and 188 feet wide, commemorates the filming of “The Wizard of Oz” on the property of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Digney’s client. … Media Design Group in Santa Monica has promoted Michelle Murphy to vice president of client services and Karen Libson to director of media. Murphy will plan all aspects of MDG client’s campaigns; Libson will oversee media-buying operations. … Dagny Akeyson has joined Fiona Hutton & Associates as an account executive and will handle the firm’s social and traditional media relations services. Before joining the downtown L.A. PR firm, Akeyson worked in the communications offices of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Controller Wendy Greuel. … PR firm Carl Terzian Associates in Westwood has added UC San Diego Health System, Covenant House and BNY Mellon to its client roster. … Burbank-based ad agency M3 Creative has made David Yocum a partner and creative director of M3 Creative Trailers, a new division that will specialize in movie previews and related advertising.
Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.
