End of an era as JWT Sydney assumes operations of The Campaign Palace as of July 1 – Palace Melbourne staff absorbed into Y&R Group

JWT Australia has taken over operations of fellow WPP agency The Campaign Palace – ending, up until recently, a mostly glorious 40 year era for the Palace.

All existing staff and clients will be moving into the JWT Sydney office from July 1 – but the Palace name will cease to exist – at least for near future.

The Campaign Palace Melbourne-based staff have been integrated into the Y&R Group in Collins Street.

Current Palace national ECD Reed Collins will continue to work for Palace clients and JWT Sydney’s Mark Harricks (above) will continue to lead the creative team at JWT as executive creative director.

Says John Gutteridge, CEO of JWT Australia New Zealand: “This move is designed to give Palace clients and staff the benefit of added resources to continue to deliver the exceptional work and results that the Palace has long been renowned for.

“There was a need for greater resources to be available to Palace operations and with no conflicting clients, moving into JWT makes perfect sense. We have nothing but respect and admiration for the role the Palace has played over the years in shaping the Australian advertising landscape and we are very much looking forward to working with both their clients and staff.”

However, The Campaign Palace name will not continue to be used at this stage says Gutteridge: “A great deal of consideration needs to be given to what is one of the industry’s most iconic agencies, so while The Campaign Palace name will not be used at this stage, this may change in the future.”

Accounts moving to JWT include Bayer, Panasonic, and Smartraveller.