-By Andew McMains

NEW YORK Cigna Corp. has assigned lead creative and media duties to Omnicom Group's Doremus after the New York shop completed a strategic positioning project for the health maintenance organization.

The strategic task gave rise to a credo or brand pledge that will become the foundation for Doremus' first campaign for Cigna, which will break in the second half of 2008, said Howard Sherman, the agency's New York managing director. Sherman declined to reveal the credo, noting that thus far it had only been disseminated inside Cigna.

"Through the initial planning work, Doremus demonstrated a deep understanding of the complexities of our business and the audiences we serve," said Cigna svp Michael Showalter, in a statement. Doremus' executives "coupled this insight with a very compelling creative message."

The campaign, expected to involve TV, print, online and guerrilla marketing, will speak to both employers and consumers.

Projected spending was not disclosed, but sources anticipate that it will be in the $15-20 million range.

That would be a significant uptick from last year, when the Philadelphia-based Cigna spent about $1 million in major measured media, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. That figure does not include online ads. In 2006, Cigna's total media spend was nearly $15 million. (Cigna competitors Aetna and United Healthcare each spent around $20 million last year, per Nielsen.)

Omnicom's DDB in New York was Cigna's previous lead creative agency. It was not immediately clear which agency previously handled Cigna's media duties.

Doremus' win comes during a fruitful first quarter in which the agency also has added lead creative duties on Adecco, URS and BearingPoint, Sherman said.
 
Last year, Adecco, URS and BearingPoint spent less than $1 million, less than $1 million and more than $2 million, respectively, per Nielsen. Those figures do not include online spending. And like Cigna, each client is expected to increase its ad spend this year.