Admarketing Picks Up RB, Ortho Accounts

It was the kind of day that many Los Angeles advertising agencies only dream about. Admarketing Inc. on Friday won an estimated $18 million in annual billings by picking up both the Ortho Mattress Inc. and RB Furniture Inc. advertising accounts.

Both companies were formerly with the Los Angeles office of the New York firm D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, which had handled them for less than a year. Several investors share ownership of both privately held retailers.

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“It was a good day,” said Roth, who noted that despite the additional business, he has no plans to hire more staff to handle the new accounts. “You don’t solve problems by throwing bodies at them.”

The challenges for both Irvine-based RB Furniture and Dominguez Hills-based Ortho Mattress are to increase sales and make their images more contemporary. During the past three years, RB has changed agencies three times.

“We want to try to improve the overall image of RB and appeal to a broader audience,” said Michael Solomon, president of RB. “We want to bring in that younger portion of the market that is buying new homes and looking for furniture.”

Admarketing has already created a new advertising slogan for the 51-store RB Furniture chain, which is being test-marketed in Seattle and Phoenix: “RB Furniture--it only looks expensive.”

It has also created a slogan in test markets for Ortho Mattress: “Wake up to the truth.”