Downtown Partners to close
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based Downtown Partners will cease operations on Feb. 15. According to the agency, the decision is largely due to the loss of the Labatt Breweries of Canada account, which the firm had held for six years. The Budweiser, Bud Light and Keith's beer accounts represented approximately 40 percent of the agency's revenue. Labatt has assigned its Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Brahma accounts to Grip, and the Blue, Alexander Keith's and Lakeport brands to Publicis. "The agency is a victim of consequence," said Dan Pawych, interim managing director and creative director at Downtown Partners. "We've gone down fighting. We tried everything we could to restructure the agency and fortify its existing business. The remaining accounts didn't provide a strong enough revenue base to continue long-term operations. Minus the account and creative talent, it became impossible to secure the kind of future commitments from clients or new business opportunities that would allow us to continue to be a force." The company is in discussions with existing clients about the possibility of moving their accounts to other Omnicom agencies. Founded in 2001, Downtown Partners employed approximately 40 people.