Bond, who co-founded KB in 1987, will replace Big Fuel founder and CEO Avi Savar, who will focus on the agency's growth and drive its creative vision, Savar says.
The move, announced today, comes as Big Fuel recently took control of all of General Motors' social media marketing and opened a Detroit office to service the account. Big Fuel's other clients include McDonald's, Fisher-Price, Budweiser and Colgate-Palmolive.
Bond says that social media is coming into its own. "I think this is the fourth seat," says Bond of social media, "next to the media agency, the digital agency and the branding agency. I'd say make room." Bond says Big Fuel's mixture of strong creative and distribution drew him to the agency. "The winning formula is buzz plus scale and they've got that," Bond says.
Bond left KB in early 2010, a year after advertising holding company MDC Partners had bought a controlling interest in the agency (now known as Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners). Over the years, Bond had helped put together a client roster including Delta, Target, BMW and Wendy's. Since leaving KB, he has served as an investor and advisor to several new media firms, including Klout and crowd-sourcing agency Victors & Spoils.
Garth Holsinger, vice president of global sales and business development for Klout, says although social media shops are hot right now, they need someone with Bond's expertise. "[Big Fuel] needs the Jon Bonds of this world because they still wield a lot of influence," says Holsinger. "It's smart of them to bring in those relationships [with clients]."