Four shops have advanced to the final round of Cablevision’s search for an agency to craft image ads for its Optimum brand. This week, Cablevision executives will brief the shops. Final presentations are slated for late March.
The assignment is new and will complement product-specific ads from current lead agency Gardner Nelson + Partners in New York. Account revenue is estimated at $2 million.
Gardner Nelson is among the remaining contenders. The others are Vitro, which is pitching via its San Diego and New York offices, and New York agencies Amalgamated and Mother.
The cable company’s review committee includes Kristin Dolan, a senior evp and wife of CEO James Dolan; evp of marketing Jon Hargis; and vp of marketing and advertising Joe Leonard.
In its initial request for information distributed by Cablevision to interested agencies, the company cited the “existing heat of the competition” and a need to “find our voice” as reasons for the search. Optimum’s digital TV, Internet access and digital phone offerings compete with the likes of Verizon and DirecTV.
The company’s media business is not in play and remains in-house. Hasan + Co. in Raleigh, N.C., is managing the search. Hasan did not return calls, and the Bethpage, N.Y.-based Cablevision declined to comment.
