I-Shop's Audi Win Is Familiar Terrain

Audi of America’s decision last week to retain three-year Web-development incumbent Enlighten following a four-month review was based on the i-shop’s “understanding and appreciation for the Audi brand and ability to translate that to the interactive world,” said Andreas Sigl, client e-business content leader.

But sources said budgetary constraints came into play as Audi’s German parent, Volkswagen, saw profits fall 57 percent from 2002 to $1.44 billion last year. “Enlighten was offering up a local, boutique-y retainer,” said one source, adding that the 70-person i-shop’s blended rate is less than the $140-165 per hour its larger peers generally charge.

Enlighten marketing director Tom Beck countered that figure, noting the Ann Arbor, Mich.,