APL Digital opens for business with flagship offices on four continents and more than 140 employees. The company has charter offices in New York, Sydney, London and Hong Kong and will work in partnership with APL's network of 154 offices in 80 countries.

APL Digital said it will provide a complete range of services including strategic marketing, creative and design, technology and production as well as media services.

"The inevitable march of change is about to make the traditional agency obsolete--within a relatively short period of time we have seen major trends played out on the worldwide business scene. Communication technology is one of these--changing the way companies operate, the way they communicate with consumers," said Martin Puris, chairman, CEO and chief creative officer.

"APL's interactive group has been beta testing its capabilities with huge success over the past few years--pioneering smart and effective new media communication, he added. "APL Digital has been the best kept secret in the business. Now it's time to be heard. Our goal is to establish APL Digital market by market where it is needed."

"We believe that APL Digital offers the best of both worlds: people with terrific digital skills working within a disciplined environment to create work that is strategically right for the brand," said Brian Cauley, who will be president of the new company.

He continued, "APL Digital has its eye on the blending of the Internet with traditional media. As methods of communications from the Internet, television and telephone merge, and the devices we use merge, the types of stories we can tell become much richer."

An in-house group, Ammirati Puris Lintas Online, has given the agency "interactive capability since the beginning of 1995," Cauley told the New York Times, "so it's not as if we've just discovered it."

The new agency recently created a Web site for Iridium, the world's first hand-held satellite phone and paging network. The site is published in 12 languages. Other clients also include Compaq, Ameritech, UPS, Nestle, Unilever and FILA.

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The digital operation is the interactive partner of APL, responsible to Martin Puris. Cauley, 39, was named President of APL Digital New York. Cauley founded the interactive division of APL in 1995 and has steered its growth into APL Digital. He is former President of Look Communications, a marketing consulting company specializing in new media ventures.

Alastair Duncan, 36, was named managing director, APL Digital London. Andrew Gardner, 36, was named managing director, APL Digital Sydney. Jimmy Poon was named director of interactive marketing, APL Digital Greater China. Other top officers include Mark Avnet, senior vice president and director for production and technology; Lynn Bolger, senior vice president and media director, and Bruce Ledbetter, principal technical strategist.

Ammirati Puris Lintas is a full-service, integrated marketing communications company. APL has 154 offices in 80 countries and has 9,000 employees. Billings are currently reported at $7 billion, according to the company.

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