Dayton marketing and advertising executive and local business leader Walter Ohlmann died Friday at the age of 87.
A statement on the web site of the marketing agency Ohlmann helmed for many years, the Ohlmann Group, noted his passing.
“The Ohlmann Group is currently closed as we mourn the passing of Walter Ohlmann, a truly remarkable man who meant so much to so many,” the site said. “Thank you.”
In December, when Ohlmann became chairman of his firm, he said much had changed in his industry since he joined it, stepping away from a career in television, in 1964.
What had not changed, however, was attention to clients, he told the Dayton Daily News in an interview that month.
“We care about clients,” he said. He called that imperative his firm’s “golden rule.”
The firm remains the oldest marketing agency in town, founded as Penny & Penny in 1949 by by Bob and Jean Penny.
Ohlmann was a salesman at a TV station then identified as WLW-D (today WDTN) when Bob Penny approached him to be a partner in 1964.
Late last year, the firm’s offices at 1605 N. Main St. had 28 employees.
Last year, Ohlmann emphasized that advertising campaigns are about his clients, not his company.
“We don’t want to be in the front,” Ohlmann said. “We want to be in the back.”
When the leadership change at his firm was first announced last year, he said: “We have been extremely fortunate to serve clients who rely on our expertise, and whose trust makes our business successful.
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“We have also been fortunate to have the right people available to do the exceptional work required for continuing the agency’s progress. These leadership changes will ensure that we are able to provide for the anticipated growth of our company, both today and in the future.”
As Ohlmann stepped away, effective Jan. 1 this year, Linda Kahn, former Ohlmann senior vice president/media, became the new agency chief executive. David Bowman, familiar to customers as the firm’s chief marketing strategist, became president. Jim Hausfeld was appointed vice president of creative services. And Mike Blackney became vice president, digital marketing.
