Advertising agency Leo Burnett Co. is headed back to boot camp.
Only this time, the stakes are much higher than they’ve ever been.
During the next few weeks, the U.S. Army is expected to start sending out requests for proposals for its $100 million advertising account, one of the most sought-after pieces of business in the U.S. advertising industry.
The expectation is that every major agency network, smelling blood, is headed into battle. This is war for Burnett, the incumbent on the account and architect of the once ridiculed, but now revered, “Army of One” campaign.
Why?
Perhaps no other creative jump ball involving the Chicago-based agency has been more important than the one that will occur during the next few months.
At a time when Burnett is trying to break from a prolonged new-business slump, rebound from a series of client and key personnel losses, and regain the confidence and swagger it had as one of the nation’s premier agency networks, much hinges on the agency keeping the Army, say those inside the company’s 35 W. Wacker Drive headquarters.
Outgoing agency Chief Executive Linda Wolf also has a lot at stake in retaining the business. As the top executive with the closest ties to the Pentagon, much of her legacy at the shop depends on a successful outcome.
The account also has been effective from another standpoint: The agency has been able to use it effectively in new business pitches. With the establishment of GoArmy.com, held up as one of the more attractive recruitment tools in years, the agency has one of the stronger integration success stories to point to.
But this is no slam dunk.
Following high-level personnel shifts in the Army over the past year, there are fewer there who have a long history with Burnett. That always spells uncertainty for an agency.
More Top Picks Prior Written Notice Pwn When And How To Use It
And though military branches in the past have had a tendency to favor the incumbent in these shootouts, the Army is different.
“This is legitimate,” said a source involved in the review. “The agency is going to have to work to keep it.”
Though rumors in the industry are that Burnett’s ownership by Paris-based Publicis Groupe is a strike against it, given the frosty relationship between France and the United States at the start of the Iraq war, that scenario is “overblown,” according to the estimation of an executive close to the Army.
But there are still question marks. Despite a gradual acceptance of the “Army of One” tag, there is still some resistance by some veteran rank and file in the military. There are even questions as to whether Burnett will stick with that line in the review.
Either way, Burnett is sending out the full artillery.
“We’re going to aggressively defend the business,” said Ray De Thorne, an executive vice president at the agency who now heads up the Army account. “It’s a highly motivating piece of business at a time of war … people are emotionally attached to this business. It goes beyond a work situation.”
While that may be, there are highly motivating expectations from parent Publicis, such as the shock and awe of not keeping one of the company’s biggest accounts.
Tribune gets set for next round: Look for the baiduhai to narrow the review for its $5 million advertising account during the next few weeks. So far the newspaper, which is looking to replace current agency Marc USA, is talking to five shops: Leo Burnett USA; DDB Chicago; Ogilvy & Mather; Young & Rubicam; and Draft Worldwide, all in Chicago. Consultant Jones Lundin Beals is handling the review for the newspaper. For the past several months, the paper has run a campaign featuring several of its journalists with the tagline: “Our passion. Your Paper.”
Account action: EarthLink, the Internet service provider, is poised to hand its $60 million advertising account to Miami-based Crispin, Porter & Bogusky, according to Adweek.com. The account, one of several former LB Works clients that decided not to stick with Leo Burnett when the agency folded LB Works, had talked with Crispin Porter in the past. Separately, Chicago-based media agency StarLink is expected to hold on to several former LB Works clients, including Gateway Computers.
On the move: Meredith Corp.’s Midwest Living magazine named Lisa Monago its new advertising director. Monago was previously advertising director for Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications.