Inspiration meets innovation at Brandweek, the ultimate marketing experience. Join industry luminaries, rising talent and strategic experts in Phoenix, Arizona this September 23–26 to assess challenges, develop solutions and create new pathways for growth. Register early to save.
Adrienne Gaines of Adrienne Gaines Associates, which is handling the review, said the assignment would have no bearing on the eventual outcome, which she hoped would be announced within 30 days. The other finalists are L.A. shops Asher/Gould and Cohen/Johnson.
Though moves like this typically indicate that the interim agency will ultimately win the account, sources close to the company believe that may not be the case here. ‘They literally flipped a coin,’ to award the interim assignment, said a source close to Thrifty. It’s unclear whether the coin toss meant the contest is down to two finalists.
Sources also said the decision may have been delayed by budget planning snags at Thrifty. The agency selection, first expected around Oct. 1, was awaiting a fiscal 1994 budget approval by the board of directors. That meeting took place with no green light on an agency selection forthcoming. Others said the holdup could be at Thrifty parent Leonard Green & Partners for reasons unrelated to the review.
Heil-Brice has ties to Thrifty director of advertising Bill Elgersma and Gaines, who’ve both worked for Alpha-Beta, a H-B client. But the agency also has extensive retail experience, likely to be a big plus in a review like this one. The husband and wife team of principals Joan Heil and Hal Brice, who began their careers in news broadcasting and moved into producing station commercials, later expanded that focus into a retail ad specialty including co-op ads for supermarkets. Heil is currently the on-air spokesperson for Alpha Beta.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)
