JWT TEAMS UP WITH GROUPACTION
By Adnews Staff
Groupaction Marketing in Montreal has taken over as the Quebec arm of J. Walter Thompson in Canada. Groupaction has replaced Blouin Coulombe Dubé Thompson, the Montreal agency that was called Blouin Coulombe Dubé before JWT bought a piece of it in 1992. JWT has no ownership in Groupaction. The latter will just have a working relationship with JWT's Montreal office. BCDT president Jacques Blouin has retired and the agency is winding down its affairs as it prepares to close within the next couple of months. Currently JWT is negotiating with BCDT clients to have them go over to Groupaction, and plans call for many BCDT staff members to move to Groupaction. JWT has been managing BCDT since Blouin stepped down last August. Bombardier Inc. and Canadian Adhesives are both BCDT accounts. Former BCDT client Gaz Metropolitaine is currently holding a review and Groupaction is on the short list.
Other companies on a public listing of BCDT clients are: Royal Trust, Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, Société Immobilière Devencore and Palais des congrés de Montréal. Groupaction's client list includes Cantel Cellular Service, Lassonde Juices, Trévi Pools and Marché Richelieu. It finished 1995 with three new account wins: Societé des alcools du Québec, Justice Canada and Fidelity Investment. JWT clients include De Beers, The Discovery Channel, Kellogg Canada, Kraft Canada, Pepsi-Cola Canada, Scott Paper, Solaris and Warner-Lambert.