JSM Wins Account for Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com

Los Angeles-based Lexico Publishing Group LLC has hired JSM+ Communications as its first agency-of- record for its Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com sites. Billings were estimated at $3 million to $5 million.

“Lexico is the kind of account that we covet,” said Scott Daly, executive vice president at Santa Monica, CA-based JSM. “They’re entrepreneurial, growth- oriented and they afford us the opportunity to create a world class brand from scratch.”

JSM will develop an awareness campaign for the two sites and said it is considering everything from traditional advertising to online strategic alliances.

In addition to being a daily destination for students, teachers and librarians everywhere, the sites want to be known as the trusted authority online for up- to-date definitions of words in technical fields, particularly computers and the Internet, high finance and the law.

“We were aware of the new media capabilities at JSM”, said Lexico Publisher Brian Kariger. “However, their successful partnership with Canon and the commitment of senior management to our account convinced us that this was the right decision.” Canon’s business has grown from $150 million to $1.5 billion on JSM’s watch.

Lexico Publishing Group is a provider of language reference tools on the Internet, including the Dictionary.com English Dictionary and directory of Internet reference sites, and Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases at Thesaurus.com.

Founded in 1992 by partners Jim Sieminski (account), Scott Daly (media) and Mark Patton (creative), JSM is a full-service advertising agency with billings of $45 million. Clients include Canon Computer Systems, Canon U.S.A., Canon Software Publishing, Power Lift Corp., DreamWorks Interactive and Interactive Health. Also contained within JSM Communications is The New Media Lab, one of Los Angeles’ first agency-based Internet site development groups.