GSD&M is an American advertising agency headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1971 by graduates of University of Texas at Austin – Roy Spence, Judy Trabulsi, Tim McClure and Steve Gurasich, and others, as AdVantage Associates.[1] After the 1972 political campaign for former Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough, it re-organized with the four principals, as GSD&M. Since 1998, GSD&M has been part of the Omnicom Group. A satellite office is located in Chicago, Illinois.
In the 1990s GSD&M began to acquire more national brands outside of Texas and was regarded as a "creative hot-shop."[2]
The agency relinquished Chili's, DreamWorks, Frito-Lay, Fannie Mae and UnitedHealthcare in 2006–2007. The agency's Omnicom sibling, BBDO, was given the lead on the AT&T account, although GSD&M still has a portion of the business. That loss eventually reduced the number of employees from a high of over 900 to fewer than 400.
The agency was known as GSD&M until August 27, 2007 when it changed its name to GSD&M's Idea City.[3] "Idea City" was previously the name of the agency's Austin headquarters. The "Idea City" name was dropped from the firm name in January 2011.[4]
On February 5, 2009, GSD&M founder Roy Spence published It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For. The book, co-authored with Haley Rushing, is a business book that suggests the key to high-performing organizations is that they have a purpose. Purpose, according to the book, is defined as "a definitive statement about the difference you are trying to make in the world."
GSD&M uses "Purpose-based branding" in its approach to their clients.[5]
