Fran Yanity / President & COO
For 23 years, Bob Wills has been the President and CEO of the advertising agency he founded in 1988. But that's about to change.
Mr. Wills recently announced that Fran Yanity, PMG's former Senior Vice President, has been promoted to the position of President & Chief Operating Officer for both The PM Group and its sister agency, Binocular Media effective February 1, 2012. Ms. Yanity joined the company in 2004 as the agency's then Director of Partnership Marketing. She received her MBA from Southern Methodist University in 1991, and prior to that, she graduated with honors from Trinity University here in San Antonio with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History in 1989. As PMG Senior Vice President, she has primarily overseen most of the agency's top clients over the years, including Spurs, Sports & Entertainment and EyeMasters.
As for Bob Wills, he will retain the position of CEO for the two agencies, as well as, the three other companies that are part of his organization (Quarter Moon Productions, Nnovative Marketing Solutions and The Wood Agency). All five companies are located in the Northwest Center office building located at 7550 IH-10 West here in San Antonio. According to the San Antonio Business Journal's 2012 Book of Lists, The PM Group is ranked as the largest general market advertising agency in San Antonio and the second largest agency overall, right behind Bromley Communications.
"I am so excited about the future of the agencies. Elevating Fran Yanity to the position of agency President & COO was one of the easiest decisions I have ever made. She is passionate, exceptionally bright and talented and highly revered by our clients and staff. She was the perfect person for this position", stated Bob Wills.
"This is an incredible opportunity for the agency and me personally", stated Ms. Yanity, "to lead the tremendous organization that Bob has built. Our growth path has been one that has experienced year over year agency growth for virtually every year since the agency has been in existence", she added.
Is Bob retiring some people ask? "Not at all, this is part of a strategic effort to continue our expansion into new areas and opportunities. Our vision is to capitalize on the limitless amount of opportunities for new business, new products, the acquisition of category businesses and the evolving digital world of social media", Wills added. One of those new businesses was just launched this past year. Nnovative Marketing Solutions came in to existence last June and successfully launched a new consumer brand called The BOOK OF FREE. NMS partnered with Valero Corner Stores to sell a 100 page gift certificate book that provided consumers with everything from free dinners to free dry cleaning. The company designated a large portion of its sales to 19 local charities and organizations like the San Antonio Food Bank, Haven for Hope, UTSA athletics, Morgan's Wonderland, the Returning Heroes Home and local animal rescue. The company recently announced a $150,000 donation. "It feels good to be Santa Claus, we have always been committed to giving back", Wills proudly stated.
Skip Wood, a long standing advertising agency veteran in the San Antonio community, and the President of The Wood Agency added this; "I am very excited for Fran. She's charismatic, highly dedicated and the consummate professional. I'm certain she'll help this new team of passionate marketers dedicated to superior service, an outstanding creative product and the most powerful media organization in this area become even more effective for our client partners. All of us in The Wood Agency congratulate Fran and look forward to the new opportunities we will be generating together."
