SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) today announced that Grey San Francisco has been selected as the global advertising agency of record for the acclaimed Norton(TM) brand. Grey San Francisco will handle global creative advertising and brand strategy, as well as social strategy for the Norton brand. Grey will also drive media strategy, planning and buying around the globe for both Symantec and the Norton brand, in collaboration with WPP sister agency, MediaCom, a model the two agencies believe important for clients seeking a holistic approach to audience engagement and marketing effectiveness.

"As part of Symantec's company-wide transformation, we are changing the way we market our brands, and have sought a creative partner to help strengthen our brand messaging and ensure we are communicating our brand value propositions in an integrated fashion around the world," said Alix Hart, vice president of brand, digital and advertising at Symantec. "Grey's creativity, strategic thinking, strong digital capabilities and deep understanding of our Norton brand were unbeatable when coupled with MediaCom's media management sophistication, scale and buying power."

Milan Martin, president of Grey San Francisco, said, "We're thrilled to partner with the Symantec team to help refresh the Norton brand and establish it as the leader in information and identity protection for consumers and small businesses." Hired to lead Grey in SF in May of last year, Martin continued, "We've got big aspirations for our San Francisco office, and we're honored that Symantec saw the uniqueness and benefit of our new agency model here on the West Coast."

A new integrated global advertising campaign for Norton is slated for spring 2014. Godfrey Q in San Francisco retains creative duties for Symantec, which includes identity and naming.

Symantec, headquartered in Mountain View, is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Symantec's innovative products and services protect people and information in any environment - from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems.

About Grey

Grey San Francisco is the West Coast arm of Grey, the advertising network of Grey Group. Grey Group ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (NASDAQ : WPPGY). Under the banner of "Grey Famously Effective Since 1917," the agency serves a blue-chip roster of many of the world's best known companies : Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Darden Restaurants, Pfizer, Canon, 3M, NFL, Boehringer Ingelheim, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, T.J. Maxx. Grey was named ADWEEK's "Global Agency of the Year" for 2013. (www.grey.com)

About MediaCom

MediaCom is one of the world's leading media communications specialists, with billings exceeding US $28 billion (Source: RECMA 2012). It employs 4,600 people in 113 offices across 89 countries around the globe. The company's strategy is driven by its "People first, better results" philosophy, which places people - consumers, clients and employees - at its core to generate optimum business results. MediaCom was named Network of the Year at the Festival of Media 2012 and 2010, as well as M&M Network of the Year in 2013, 2011, 2010 and 2009. MediaCom Worldwide is a member of WPP, the world's largest marketing communications services group, and part of Group M, WPP's consolidated media investment management arm. For more information, visit www.mediacom.com.

Contact: Owen Dougherty
212-546-2551
odougherty@grey.com

SOURCE Grey