McCann Erickson Closes an Office: Drip, Drip, Drip of Bad News Continues

(MoneyWatch)  McCann-Erickson is closing its Brisbane, Australia, office. In the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal -- only 16 staff will be let go. But from a public relations perspective the closure looks like another drop within a steady rain of bad news that has enveloped the Interpublic (IPG) agency recently.

Here's the sorry list of clients that McCann was serving at the shop: RACQ Insurance, Michael Hill Jeweller, the Queensland Water Commission and retirement village company Aveo. Chief executive Chris Mort admitted to The Australian that McCann in Oz has lost lost its way. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that the closing wasn't just because the Brisbane shingle was small, it was because it was unprofitable.

Brisbane's problems are -- arguably -- symptomatic of the McCann network as a whole, which has lost key clients such as Microsoft, Pfizer and Hewlett Packard. The WorldGroup needs a turnaround. McCann CEO John Dooner has failed to position the agency to weather the recession. As he prepares for retirement, his boss -- Interpublic CEO Michael Roth -- should look at Brisbane as a warning for the rest of the group.

• Related:
• McCann Accused of Plagiarism in Creepy Anti-Child Abuse Ads
• How McCann Botched the Sterling Cooper Acquisition: "It's the Clients, Stupid"
• McCann Is Hemorrhaging Jobs and Clients, and CEO Dooner Needs to Name a Successor