Wunderman Archives, 1946-2010 and undated

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Collection is restricted. Unpublished materials are closed to non-Wunderman researchers for 15 years from the date of creation. Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Research...
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Summary

Creator:
Wunderman (Firm)
Abstract:
Wunderman is a direct marketing and behavior-oriented marketing communications firm founded in 1958 as Wunderman Ricotta & Kline. It is currently a subsidiary of the Young & Rubicam agency. The Wunderman Archives span the years 1946-2010 and comprise the administrative records of direct-mail and direct marketing agency Wunderman and its predecessor entities Wunderman Ricotta & Kline, Wunderman Worldwide, Wunderman Cato Johnson, and Impiric, as well as its subsidiary offices in the U.S. and abroad, associated firms such as Stone & Adler and Chapman Direct, and its relations with parent company Young & Rubicam. It includes general office files, policy and procedure manuals, training materials, awards, account files, new business records, professional papers of founder Lester Wunderman and other key executives, samples of client campaigns, photographs, slides and audio cassettes and videocassettes. Clients include American Express, Apple, Army/ROTC, AT&T, Britannica Press, CBS, CIT Financial, Citibank, Columbia House, Ford, Gevalia Kaffe (Kraft), the Grolier Society, IBM, Jackson & Perkins, Johnson & Johnson, Lincoln-Mercury, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Microsoft, Miller beer, National Rifle Association, New York Telephone/NYNEX, Time (Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated magazines), Time-Life Books, United States Postal Service (USPS), and Xerox. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
520 Linear Feet
354,000 Items
Language:
Material in English, Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Collection ID:
RL.01416

Background

Scope and content:

The Wunderman Archives span the years 1946-2010 and comprise the administrative records of direct-mail and direct marketing agency Wunderman and its predecessor entities Wunderman Ricotta & Kline, Wunderman Worldwide, Wunderman Cato Johnson, and Impiric, as well as its subsidiary offices in the U.S. and abroad, associated firms such as Stone & Adler and Chapman Direct, and its relations with parent company Young & Rubicam. It includes general office files, policy and procedure manuals, training materials, awards, account files, new business records, professional papers of founder Lester Wunderman and other key executives, samples of client campaigns, photographs, slides and audio cassettes and videocassettes. Clients include American Express, Apple, Army/ROTC, AT&T, Britannica Press, CBS, CIT Financial, Citibank, Columbia House, Ford, Gevalia Kaffe (Kraft), the Grolier Society, IBM, Jackson & Perkins, Johnson & Johnson, Lincoln-Mercury, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Microsoft, Miller beer, National Rifle Association, New York Telephone/NYNEX, Time (Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated magazines), Time-Life Books, United States Postal Service (USPS), and Xerox.

Biographical / historical:
Chronology List
Date Event
1958
Wunderman Ricotta & Kline (WRK) founded when Lester Wunderman, Irving Wunderman, Ed Ricotta and Harry Kline depart the Maxwell Sackheim & Co. advertising agency
1968
Open offices in Canada, London, Paris
1973
WRK merged with Young & Rubicam
1987
WRK name change to Wunderman Worldwide
1992
Wunderman Worldwide merger with Cato Johnson to form Wunderman Cato Johnson (WCJ)
1998
Lester Wunderman retired from WCJ
2000
WCJ name change to Impiric
2001
Impiric name change to Wunderman
2003
Acquisition of media planning agency Mediaedge:cia
2005
Acquisition of marketing analytics firm Fortelligent
2006
Acquisition of Seattle-based interactive services agency ZAAZ
2007
Acquisition of digital services agencies These Days (Belgium), Aqua Online (South Africa) and Blast Radius
2008
Acquisition of digital services agencies Actis Systems (Russia), Kassius (France) and DesignKitchen

Source: wunderman.com history timeline.

Acquisition information:
The Wunderman Archives were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2010-2012.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, March 2012

Encoded by Richard Collier, March 2012

Accessions 2010-0202, 2011-0015, 2012-0014 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into ten series: Administrative Files; Account Files; Awards; International Offices; New Business Files; Printed Materials; Print Advertising; Slides and Photographs; Training Materials and Presentations; and Audiovisual Materials. Original order was maintained and original folder titles were retained where practical. There is a degree of overlap of related material among some of the series, as between Account Files and International Offices, which reflects the historical record-keeping practices of the firm.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is restricted.

Unpublished materials are closed to non-Wunderman researchers for 15 years from the date of creation.

Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Research Services staff need to produce use copies before contents can be accessed.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Wunderman Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University