Claudia Strauss Joins Grey's Alliance as Chief Executive Officer

NEW YORK, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tor Myhren, President and Chief Creative Officer of Grey New York, today announced that Claudia Strauss is joining Alliance, Grey's lifestyle and entertainment marketing agency, as Chief Executive Officer, a new position. She will oversee Alliance and work closely with the group's President, Amy Tunick.

Strauss joins from Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal and Partners where she created and served as the founding President of LIME, its leading-edge promotions and public relations group. Claudia also served as a Managing Partner of the agency since 1999.

"This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining the team at Grey," said Strauss. "Building on all their momentum, my goal is to expand the agency's offerings by growing capabilities in areas like social, experiential, promotional marketing and branded content that we know are increasingly vital to client needs."

This marks one of the first major hires Myhren has made since becoming President of Grey New York last December.

"Claudia has become known for big, never-been-done-before ideas that permeate pop culture and resonate across all channels," Myhren said. "She has the imagination and vision to expand our offering and help Grey continue to create famously effective brand stories."

Claudia Strauss: A Track Record of "Firsts"

As President of LIME and a key executive at KBS&P, Claudia Strauss built a practice to provide one-of-a-kind multiplatform campaigns, extending beyond traditional advertising. Her arsenal of capabilities has grown to include experiential marketing, partnership development, content creation, social media as well as buzz-generating promotions and public relations.

Under her leadership, LIME introduced many industry innovations and "firsts" including the first US pop up store for Delta Airlines; the first affinity card for HBO; the first consumer-generated coupon for Lucky Brand Jeans; a branded boat for Target and a Meow Mix television show for cat lovers on the Oxygen network.

In addition, Strauss has overseen fully-integrated campaigns for such leading brands as Bic, Bravo, Cablevision, Citibank, Coca Cola, Diageo, Discovery, Home Goods, History Channel, Lexus, Old Navy, Panasonic, Philips, Puma, Timex, Time Warner, TJX Corp, Sharp, Revlon and Wendy's.

Strauss has been recognized with industry honors including multiple Reggie's, Bulldogs, Buzz Awards, Pro Awards, X Awards and MAAs.

Earlier in her career, Strauss headed up global marketing for several arts organizations based in Geneva before becoming a principal at CLS Associates, specializing in integrated launch programs for clients in the publishing, arts and technologies fields. She created the New York Post's "The Savvy Shopper" column and served as the Executive Director and co-founder of the Flatiron District Business Association in Manhattan.

About Alliance

Grey was one of the first global agencies to build a stand-alone entertainment arm. Alliance, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, creates multi-platform, non-traditional marketing and public relations campaigns that help brands engage with their target audiences through lifestyle activities they enjoy. Its programs leverage celebrities, television, film, music, gaming, events, retail promotions and brand-to-brand partnerships.

Today, Alliance's service offering includes talent retention, strategic partnerships, brand integrations, sponsorship negotiation and activation, public relations social media, guerilla and experiential marketing. Its clients include Canon, the National Football League, Western Union, 3M, Calgon, Daffy's, Green Earth Technologies, GlaxoSmithKline, Bosch/Purolator and the Tuna Council.

About Grey Group

Grey Group ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY). Under the banner of "Grey Famously Effective since 1917" its global advertising agency network serves a blue-chip client roster of many of the world's best known companies including Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Darden Restaurants, DirecTV, Pfizer, Canon, 3M, Eli Lilly , E*Trade, NFL, Boehringer Ingelheim, J.M. Smucker and T.J. Maxx.  Grey is the only advertising agency to be featured in FAST COMPANY magazine's "50 Most Innovative Companies in the World" issue in both 2010 and 2011 (www.grey.com)

Contact: Owen Dougherty
212-546-2551

SOURCE Grey