Editor’s note: This story is revised from the print edition.
Atlanta-based marketing agency CSE is restructuring into a holding company with five business units that will each have their own separate P&Ls.
The 30-year-old agency was founded as Career Sports & Entertainment by longtime agent Lonnie Cooper, who has spent years diversifying the company. Feeling the units had developed enough organically, Cooper decided to split the business groups under the umbrella of Cooper Holdings Inc. The five business units will be CSE (marketing and client services), CSE Talent, CSE Digital, Justice Network and ARMA, its music-business arm.
Cooper Holdings Inc.
■ CSE Digital: Monty Mullig, president
■ CSE Talent: Lonnie Cooper
■ CSE: Doug Manning, president
■ ARMA: Larry Jones, vice president
■ Justice Network: Steve Schiffman, CEO
“We felt these business had matured to the point where they deserved their own vertical,” said Cooper, who is also looking at expanding into the golf business. “This also allows us more flexibility for growth through acquisitions or additional hirings or expansion into other cities.”
The company has more than 200 employees, spread across offices in Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C. Key corporate clients include Coca-Cola, Aflac and AT&T/Cricket Wireless. It also has a strong broadcast representation division and has significantly built out its digital offerings in the past five years.
As part of the reorganization, CSE executive vice president of marketing Doug Manning, a 17-year veteran of the company, has been named president of CSE. Former CSE president Adam Zimmerman departed in December after he was named vice president of marketing of the Atlanta Braves. Zimmerman was with CSE 18 years. “This is all about focus, flexibility and allowing us to work better with each other and clients,” said Manning.
He said key areas of focus will be sports marketing/sponsorship, experiential marketing, shopper/retail marketing, diversity marketing and content marketing.
