Integrated Youth Market Agency Launches

G-WHiZ! launched as an integrated, multi-disciplinary marketing company specializing in communications for the youth market.

The company said it offers clients a full range of services including traditional advertising and media; direct and promotional marketing; Internet and interactive content and proprietary research and brand planning.

G-WHiZ! joins a roster of over a dozen independent specialized communications and marketing services companies of Grey Advertising.

Barbara Martino, 37, has been appointed president of G-WHiZ! and leads an initial staff of 12 professionals. Martino has extensive experience at Grey in building youth brands for clients such as Parker Brothers, Konami Video Games, Kenner and M&M/Mars.

Earlier in her career, she was instrumental in the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System at McCann-Erickson and later oversaw the $40 million Milton Bradley account at Griffin Bacal.

“Clients with youth-oriented brands have expressed the real need for specialized communications solutions, ideas that transcend single mediums to reach young consumers at multiple points of contact with their brands,” Martino said. “G-WHiZ! represents a new paradigm for achieving greater communications synergy.”

“We are delighted with the entrepreneurial initiative of our people who conceived this startup,” said Edward H. Meyer, chairman, president and CEO of Grey Advertising. “Their collective experience building youth brands coupled with their deep understanding of both the target’s mindset and the needs of today’s marketers have led them to break new ground with G-WHiZ!”

Martino added that: “Our comprehensive approach to youth marketing, called SIGNAL, yields a deeper understanding of youth lifestyle, by pinpointing the key psychological drivers of their behavior. These insights into the youth mindset propel creative and media placement that forges a tighter bond between the young consumer and the brand.”