DETROIT -- Jackson and Partners, a newly formed advertising firm started by industry veterans Michael Jackson and Gary Topolewski, opened a new location last week in downtown Detroit.
The minority-owned company aims to serve small- to mid-size automotive dealers, entertainment companies and media outlets.
Jackson, 56, the one-time North American marketing chief for General Motors, and Topolewski, 54, was previously executive creative director at a number of national advertising agencies as well as a winner of two Cannes Golden Lion awards for advertising.
Jackson and Partners formed in February 2011 in Las Vegas and had a joint venture with R&R Partners, the Las Vegas-based advertising firm that created the "What happens here, stays here" campaign for that city.
The partners eventually decided to move back to Michigan.
In December of last year, Jackson and Partners began working with the Ahee family, owners of Edmund T. Ahee Jewelers in suburban Detroit, and a few other locally based clients.
In April of this year, Jackson and Partners started winding up its joint venture with R&R Partners and gathering the paperwork for the LLC in Michigan, a process Jackson said took a lot of their time.
The company has three partners and three freelancers. In addition to its planned work with local companies of all sizes, the partners said they plan to do speaking engagements and guest professorships and offer learning opportunities to local students, such as internships.
Since he left GM in June 2007, Jackson most recently served as senior vice president of global sales and distribution at California-based electric-car and battery manufacturer Coda. Before that, he worked at digital agency Sarkissian Mason.
Jackson and Partners signed a one-year lease with three one-year options for their office space.
"The primary reason for that," Jackson said of the shortness of the lease term, "is we hope we outgrow that space."
