ADVERTISING/MARKETING : dGWB Charts Steady Growth While Others Wither in Recession

DeYong Ginsberg Weisman Bailey Advertising of Irvine, one of Orange County’s largest agencies, is not letting the recession slow it down. The agency just opened a new wing in its Executive Park building and added five people to its 40-member agency. The company’s steady growth is remarkable considering that nearly a third of the 11,000 jobs in the industry in Orange County fell victim last year to the recession.

The company, which bills $25 million annually, won the corporate El Pollo Loco account earlier this year and is adding divisions of Yamaha Corporation of America to its list of clients.

The El Pollo Loco account, formerly with McCann Erickson in Los Angeles, is worth $8.5 million, according to Jim deYong, executive vice president and creative director. The agency won the corporate part of the business in April, three months after beginning a local store marketing campaign for El Pollo Loco restaurants.

Michael Weisman, executive vice president and general manager of dGWB, said that one strategy that has worked well for his company is monitoring the financial situation of his clients. In some instances, he has offered to temporarily suspend billings for clients that were in danger of cutting back on their advertising for financial reasons. The agency doesn’t get paid on time, but it keeps the client. “They don’t forget it,” Weisman said.