Cheil North America Launches Media Agency...

Cheil North America has launched a full-service media agency called Attention Arc.

The new shop, led by co-presidents Asieya Pine and Swapnil Patel, was formed by merging creative agency McKinney’s media buying arm with direct marketing agency Lockard & Wechsler Direct (LWD). It opens with more than $500 million in media billings, 150 employees, and 80 clients.

Its executive leadership team includes Ben Speight, executive vice president of media strategy and client services; Cristina Ferruggiari, executive vice president of media investment and optimization; Carolyn Sura, executive vice president of broadcast investments; Tyler Hudgins, executive vice president of data analytics and technology; and Leslie DeMent, executive vice president of people and experience.

Attention Arc is the fifth agency in Cheil’s North America portfolio, joining McKinney, Barbarian, Iris, and CYLNDR Studios. It will handle all media buying across the network’s agencies, replacing a role previously played by McKinney Media.

“We now have a really scalable, really sophisticated, full-service media agency that we can bring to market on its own,” Joe Maglio, president of Cheil North America and CEO of both McKinney and Barbarian, told ADWEEK.

“Being the singular media agency within the network allows us to focus and handle any and all media needs that are relevant,” added Patel. “You’ve got a singular point of contact, with all the direct media relationships and hands-on keyboard experience housed in one entity.”

Having a standalone media agency will also serve to broaden Cheil’s media capabilities in North America while growing its name recognition. “Having the McKinney brand on top, which is a 50-plus-year-old creative agency, really started to hinder us getting taken seriously for bigger opportunities in the media space,” Maglio explained.

Serving The Underserved Mid-Market

Attention Arc handles media buying across all channels, from linear TV to search and social. The agency is targeting mid-market clients—often underserved by holding companies—spending between $25 million to $150 million.

“That’s where we see a lot of our opportunity,” said Patel. “Are you really getting serviced well or not?”

Its tech stack includes a performance attribution engine and a first-party data audience targeting platform so the agency “can provide clients with daily reporting and optimize in real time,” said Pine.

Client service is a strong focus. “One of our clients sent us an email and said, ‘You rank really high in the KPI of LOGAS—Level of Give a Shit,’” Pine said.

According to Maglio, the integration between McKinney Media and LWD took about four months—a timeline he described as swift. He added that in addition to the merger, all “lingering media capabilities at other shops” in Cheil have also been rolled into Attention Arc.