WhiteRunkle Associates is in the early stages of implementing an employee stock ownership program (ESOP), says Jack White, president of the Spokane advertising agency.


Separately, WhiteRunkle Interactive, a division of the firm, has landed a short-term contract to develop Internet advertisements for the National Geographic Society.


White says WhiteRunkle has hired Columbia Financial Advisors Inc., of Portland, Ore., to help with the ESOP. WhiteRunkles 76 employees in Spokane, 10 in Seattle, three in New Jersey, and one in Pittsburgh, eventually will own the agency, he says.


Were very excited about what the future holds for our clients and our employees, White says.


He says its premature to disclose a timeline for the transition, the value of the company, or any other details of the ESOP. Along with WhiteRunkles other owners, Bob Runkle and Ed Miller, White informed employees of the pending change about three weeks ago, he says. The agencys clients havent been notified yet, he says.


White says its probable that he and Runkle will step back from daily business activity at the agency after the ESOP has been put in place, but they plan to still play a role there. Miller expects to maintain his current level of involvement, White says.


WhiteRunkle was founded in 1980 as Clark-White-Saugen, and over the years has had other names, such as Clark-White & Associates and WhiteRunkleZack, as the agencys ownership mix has changed. It seeks clients locally and nationally and competes withand sometimes beats outadvertising powerhouses for advertising work.


WhiteRunkles clients include AT&T Wireless and Nintendo of America Inc. It had $72 million in gross billings last year, up from $62 million in 2001.


Meanwhile, WhiteRunkle Interactive is developing what are called eye blaster Internet advertisements for the National Geographic Society, says Nick Murto, vice president of WhiteRunkle Interactive.


The ads will promote subscriptions to the Washington, D.C.-based organizations four magazinesNational Geographic, National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Traveler, and National Geographic Adventure. The contract, which will target mostly middle-aged women shopping for holiday gifts, could lead to other projects from National Geographic, Murto says.


Its a huge deal for us, he says. Were very excited about it.


Murto declines to disclose the contracts dollar value. The agency landed the deal three weeks ago, and it will expire when the eye blasters go online next week, he says.


The ads will use a media platform developed by a New York company called Eyeblaster Inc., he says. Eye blasters appear on computer screens, as pop-up advertisements do when Internet surfers access certain pages, but involve sound and animation, such as people walking or products flying in front of a Web pages text.


Those type of ads get high click-through rates and good results, so thats why theyve chosen to go that route, Murto says.


WhiteRunkle Interactive has worked with Eyeblasters platform before, Murto says. National Geographic contacted Eyeblaster after seeing ads that WhiteRunkle produced for Nintendo of America Inc., he says. The Spokane agency won the account over four East Coast-based advertising companies that also were competing for the work, he says.


Murto declines to disclose details of the ads, but says theyll be based on traditional National Geographic themes, such as wild animals and the outdoors.


WhiteRunkle Interactive also has done work for AT&T Wireless, Ericsson North America, Spokane Hoopfest Association, and others, Murto says. It has 12 full-time employees, but about 30 of WhiteRunkles other employees regularly work with the division, he says.