NEW YORK: Consumer boutique firm Clifford PR has become the latest agency to jump on the Internet bandwagon, forming a separate Internet division last week.
NEW YORK: Consumer boutique firm Clifford PR has become the latest
agency to jump on the Internet bandwagon, forming a separate Internet
division last week.
The move once again underscores the dot-com sector’s insatiable demand
for consumer marketing expertise. Although Clifford has a small
portfolio of Internet-based clients (and had none at this time last
year), president Mike Clifford projected that the division will generate
roughly half of the firm’s business next year.
’Suddenly there was critical mass in interest and work,’ he said. ’These
companies want the service of a boutique firm, and we have ability that
cuts from home furnishings to finance.’ The firm generated dollars
590,000 in fee income in 1998, a figure that should increase ’50% to
100%’ this year, Clifford said.
Heading up the three-person interactive division is director Beth
Torrie, whom Clifford recently nabbed from a Boston hi-tech company.
Its dot-com client stable includes new accounts such as Goodhome.com,
Equire.com, GlobalNetFinancial.com and OpenTable.com.
Both home furnishing site Goodhome and online reservation system
OpenTable are using Clifford in conjunction with other firms.
London-based Equire creates Web sites for established UK retailers such
as Hamleys toy store.