Fleet Deal Spells Showdown

Largest Shops Await Fallout From BankBoston Buy
BOSTON–A message from chief marketing officer Fran Kelly to all Arnold Communications employees last week sought to answer any questions resulting from Fleet Financial Group’s proposed buyout of BankBoston.
“We’re in line to do everything for Fleet,” Kelly told staffers.
The merger not only creates the nation’s eighth-largest bank, but also sets up a potential showdown between New England’s biggest agencies: Arnold, which handles ads for Fleet, and Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, BankBoston’s shop.
The key question of who would head marketing for the combined entity–Fleet’s Anne Finucane or BankBoston’s Ira Jackson–had not been made public at press time last week.