Three Ford Ad Agencies Combine Under One New Name

Three of Ford Motor Co.’s ad agencies have been combined by their owner under a new name, GTB (Global Team Blue), Crain’s Detroit Business reports.

The move by U.K.-based WPP aims to accent the global services abilities of the three firms: Team Detroit in Dearborn, Mich.; Blue Hive in London; and Retail First in Minneapolis, Minn.

GTB, which is headquartered in Dearborn, operates through 49 offices on six continents. The new group is headed by Satish Korde, formerly CEO of Team Detroit.

Team Detroit itself is a product of WPP’s combination in 2006 of six agencies to handle the Ford marketing account, currently worth $2.5 billion per year. Crain’s Detroit Business notes that Hudson Rouge, the New York City agency that handles Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand, will retain its own name.