Last November, GoDaddy concluded a four-month creative review by naming TBWA\Chiat\Day New York as its global creative agency.
It now appears that relationship will end by the time 2017 rolls around.
“We are winding down our partnership with TBWA by the end of the year. We appreciate the contributions they’ve made to our global organization,” a GoDaddy representative wrote in response to sources claiming that the two will soon part ways. “We’ll be reviewing other alternatives in the weeks and months ahead.”
The representative did not clarify whether that will entail a formal creative review, and TBWA declined to comment on the news. One source, however, tells us that the client plans to take more of its marketing work in-house and that TBWA may continue to work on certain projects outside the United States.
The development follows the June resignation of CMO Phil Bienert, who joined GoDaddy last year and promised to take its marketing efforts in a different direction. He was replaced by former CMO Barb Rechterman, who had assumed the chief customer officer role after Beinert came aboard.
GoDaddy characterized its last effort to find a creative agency as “an extensive review that included in-market meetings with GoDaddy country executives and agency teams in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, as well as the U.S.”
Prior to that process, the brand had worked with Barton F. Graf 9000. In January of 2015, the brand decided to pull a controversial Super Bowl spot from the agency after it met with online backlash.
According to Kantar Media, the brand spent an estimated $25 million on measured media domestically in 2014.
TBWA\Chiat\Day New York launched its first effort for the brand, “Cats with Hats” in April. That campaign demonstrated the brand’s efforts to target small businesses owners … as well as the general appeal of cats in headwear.