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St Luke’s, the co-operative advertising agency, is dividing itself

into two mini shops as it seeks to find a flexible structure for the

future.

The two, as yet unnamed, agencies will each centre around a team of

creative directors - one run by Kate Stanners and Tim Hearn, the other

by Alan Young and Julian Vizard. They will contain up to 35 people and

will operate their own business plans, account relationships and also

occupy separate areas at St Luke’s Dukes Road offices.

A third group led by Naresh Ramchandani and David Buonaguidi will

continue to develop ideas outside the advertising arena, primarily in TV

programming and publishing. As each group reaches its maximum capacity,

a new group will be established.

St Luke’s is expected to launch a fourth division in the autumn, which

will concentrate on new media. A fifth division is planned for January

1998.

The plan follows a model established by the German agency, Springer &

Jacoby, 11 years ago. In 1986, Springer & Jacoby split the agency’s 260

staff into seven autonomous units in a bid to maintain its edge through

healthy competition. The agency heads, Konstantin Jacoby and Reinhard

Springer, maintained quality control within the groups by expecting

managers annually to justify how well they were upholding the ’4Cs’ -

creativity, client satisfaction, cash and culture.

St Luke’s will continue to be represented as an entity by Andy Law and

David Abraham, who will concentrate on its strategic development,

including the establishment of new groups either within or outside the

traditional advertising business. Law retains the title of chairman,

while Abraham takes the new title of chief operating officer.

Law commented: ’When we started St Luke’s, we numbered around 30 people

and the team energy worked brilliantly. By creating two new

owner-entrepreneur groups, we intend to maintain that energy as we

continue to grow.’

Young added: ’It can be hard for individuals to maintain a sense of

personal achievement in a large company. This approach will help to

sustain everyone’s expectations, performance and job satisfaction as we

get bigger.’

The restructure follows a six-month audit by the social and

environmental consultant, Sustainability, which has advised St Luke’s on

its development.