Accounts In Review: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International

Budget: $50 million Decision date: late July Incumbent: none Market Situation The New York-based client is the world's fifth largest accountancy/consultancy with operations in more than 130 countries. Last year, the Asian financial crisis thwarted DTT's overseas expansion efforts. It is now looking for a global image effort to compete with its competitors, four of which have grown larger via mergers and acquisitions: KPMG International, Andersen Worldwide, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young International. The latter two have recently launched global campaigns. Inside Scoop The client has three shops on its roster: Tierney & Partners in Philadelphia handles its consulting arm (and was cut from this review last week); Keiler & Co. helms the U.S. accounting division; and Ogilvy & Mather in Toronto handles the accounting business in Canada. The consultant said Ogilvy is a finalist, but the agency initially said it would not participate. At press time, however, Ogilvy said it would compete but declined to identify which office would lead its pitch. The winning agency for this new account will create the first global identity for DTT. It will be asked to combine previous work by roster shops into a new worldwide effort. Global reach--in both creative and media--is the mandate. John Allen, of brand consultancy Lippincott & Margulies in New York, is handling the review. He is a former svp, group management director at Foote, Cone & Belding, New York, where he worked on Citibank from 1994-'97. That connection apparently didn't help FCB, which returned its questionnaire but didn't make the grade, nor True North sibling Tierney, whose ads employed an "Us vs. them" theme. Contenders DDB, New York The effort is being led by Lisa Spielman, the agency's director of new business, but a creative team has yet to be officially assembled. However, sources said co-chief creative officer Steve Landsberg and group creative director Ken Shuldman will be involved. The pair have contrasting personalities, with one source describing the former as the "Al Gore of advertising" and the latter as the "Woody Allen of advertising." DDB is itching for a win here: It pitched Ernst & Young last year but lost to D'Arcy, and the agency pitched Deloitte Consulting two years ago before losing to Tierney. DDB's position might have been better a few months ago: Keith Ferrazzi ran Deloitte's marketing group during the consulting review but he has since moved to Starwood, where he awarded DDB that company's $35 million account last month. Grey Advertising, New York Ben Arno, who has a reputation as a strong, diligent account leader from his time at Ogilvy as worldwide account supervisor on American Express, is leading this pitch. Sources said he is particularly good at understanding the client's perspective and brand-building requirements. The resources of new chief planning officer Gerry Schweitzer and the brand planning and research department he runs will also be tapped for this pitch. With some 90 global clients, the agency's worldwide reach isn't in doubt, but the shop's financial expertise might be--the New York office has not handled any financial clients of note. Keiler & Co., Farmington, Conn. Last spring the shop fashioned a mid-seven-figure global image project for DTT that was well-received by the client and, apparently, convinced officials that a larger worldwide push was needed. Keiler executives do not believe their existing relationship gives them any advantage here, especially considering the size of the assignment and the shop's modest profile (it claims just $70 million in billings). However, the review panel is dominated by officials from the U.S. accounting side of the business, which might explain why David made the cut with all these Goliaths. At present, the agency is pitching alone, but will surely tout its membership in the International Network of Business Agencies, a loose-knit group of independent shops, as an option for its overseas activity. It is unclear what role chairman Dick Keiler, in the midst of a 5-year retirement plan, will play in the event of a win. Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York MVBMS has just broken the first TV campaign for staid investment bank J.P. Morgan, which positions the company on human terms. This could be a similar situation for the shop: Creating noteworthy advertising for a traditionally conservative corporate client. The shop is coming off losing a pitch for the Art.com business, so a win here would be nice. All told, though, this isn't a shop in desperate need of new business. It just won a $35 million assignment from Glaxo-Wellcome, plus new business-to-business work from Intel.

Brand Marketing

Accounts In Review: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International

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