History
Founder Lester Wunderman is widely considered to be the creator of modern-day direct marketing—a term he originated in a 1967 speech at MIT. Along with co-founders Irv, Wunderman, Ed Ricotta and Harry Kline, they opened Wunderman, Ricotta & Klein in 1958. Among the agency’s early innovations are the Columbia Record Club, the 1-800 toll-free number for businesses (developed for a Toyota campaign, the United States Post Office campaign for "Mr. Zip" and the zip code, and the magazine subscription card.
A long-time relationship with American Express eventually led to the first customer rewards program—a breakthrough means of keeping customers loyal to a brand that has since transformed the travel and retail industries as well.
WRK was acquired by Young & Rubicam in 1973, and has since expanded its reach into the interactive, strategic and data-analysis fields.
The agency was briefly renamed Impiric in the late 1990s, before returning to its heritage and rebranding itself as Wunderman 6 months later.
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