Today a spokesperson for American Airlines told us that the company is not ready to announce the winner of its ongoing agency review, which was first announced back in July.
We have been receiving tips throughout the day, however, and a couple of things are clear: the review has been completed and the winner will not be The Martin Agency/McCann or Energy BBDO.
This leaves two competitors: CP+B and BBH.
The review simultaneously covers both creative and media, so each agency has a partner. Our colleagues reported in September that The Martin Agency would be pitching as a stand-in for McCann’s TM Advertising (which technically held the account since 1981), and as of seven weeks ago those partners were: Energy BBDO and PHD; BBH and Optimedia; and Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Mediacom.
Sources close to the matter confirm that Energy BBDO and The Martin Agency heard from the client today and that neither will win the business.
Both remaining shops would seem to be natural choices given the fact that CP+B has played the lead role on Turkish Airlines since 2013 and British Airways expanded responsibilities for creative AOR BBH last year.
Representatives from all four agencies declined to comment on the review today.
We hear that the client wants to hold the news for Wednesday, but we expect the winner to be revealed later today or tomorrow.