Irvine Ad Agency Moving to Texas in Merger
IRVINE — Advertising agency Noble & Associates is headed to Texas, where a merger with a San Antonio firm has created the biggest U.S. ad agency making its pitches predominantly in Spanish.
The new company, called Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, Noble & Associates, is expected to have annual billings of $100 million. It will be based in San Antonio.
Some of Noble’s 50 employees in Orange County have already moved, and others are deciding whether to go, said Dan Nance, Noble general manager. A receptionist said Tuesday that the company’s Irvine office is expected to be vacant by next week.
About 25 jobs will be lost in the merger, leaving the combined company with about 125 employees.
“We bring together distinct expertise,” said Nance, who becomes executive vice president of the new agency. “Noble traditionally has been strong in packaged goods; Sosa has concentrated more on images.”
The agency said it will focus on diverse Hispanic markets in the United States. Clients include Burger King, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch and Procter & Gamble.
The companies, which merged their media resources last year, say the combined operation now manages more than 10% of the nation’s Spanish-language media expenditures.
Noble was formed in 1976, spinning off from an agency founded by Ed Noble Sr. in Mexico City in the 1950s. Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, Noble & Associates will continue to be affiliated with Noble & Associates in Mexico City.
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