Everyone knows that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Occasionally, however, the sentiment applies to corporate America, too.
Draftfcb and rival agency, Digitas, skirmished last month over the defection of several employees who moved from the former to the latter close on the heels of two Draftfcb employees who, the agency says, violated their signed agreements by recruiting their former colleagues.
AdAge reports that Draftfcb now has dropped its suit against Digitas and the two former employees, Kevin Drew Davis and Brooke Skinner. The companies issued this joint statement: "Both Draftfcb and Digitas have a tremendous amount of respect for each other, and our recent legal dispute was unfortunate. As a result of the agreements made between the parties, legal actions have been dropped."
While the two agencies have kissed and made up, corporate spats don't always end this quietly. Last year, Groupon sued two of its former sales managers, alleging they took confidential trade secrets with them when they defected to Google Offers.
Similarly, Paypal sued two employees who defected to work on Google Wallet, and HP filed three lawsuits in two years to prevent employees from working for Cisco.
Sales Buzz
HSN's New CMO (Retailing Today)
Home Shopping Network named Anne Martin-Vachon, former chief marketing officer for Nordstrom, as its CMO effective mid-May. She will develop products, find brand partners and determine new investment opportunities.
Ebay Sales Rise (Bloomberg)
Ebay sales for the first quarter of this year topped analyst estimates, propelled by PayPal, its online payments service. The Internet marketplace reported a 29% revenue increase to $3.28 billion.
Nokia Cost Cuts (NYT)
Nokia's chief executive, Stephen Elop, said the company will cut more costs, reports the New York Times. The announcement came after sales dived 29% due to slow demand for Symbian smartphones, and the company posted a $1.2 billion loss.
Marketing Buzz
Stewart's Smaller Footprint (Media Decoder)
Martha Stewart plans a weekly show on PBS this fall titled "Martha Stewart's Cooking School," but the move will reduce her on-air footprint, says Media Decoder. "The Martha Stewart Show" is being dropped by the Hallmark Channel.
Publicis Earnings (WSJ)
Paris-based communications and advertising behemoth, Publicis, which owns agencies Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi, reported a 13% increase in first-quarter revenue and said it expects even stronger growth in the second half of this year.
Hold the Texting (eMarketer)
Marketers be warned: Two-thirds of consumers in the U.S. and the U.K. say they get too much digital advertising from apps, websites, email and SMS, reports eMarketer. About 65% of respondents said they would unsubscribe from, ignore or delete marketing messages.
Buzz Around the Office
New claymation video from the Shins.
List of the Day: Keeping in Touch
Here's how to stay in touch with old bosses and mentors.
1. Holiday cards. Pretty universal.
2. Job or personal life changes.
3. Interesting articles they may like.
(Source: The Daily Muse)
