Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images
Siemens Enterprise Communications, the spin-off of Siemens that’s majority owned by venture capital firm The Gores Group, has invited six shops to compete for its global media business.
Annual global media spending is projected at $90 million. SEC plans to hire a single shop to handle all the media planning and buying across the U.S. and overseas markets, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The six shops participating in the review are Initiative, TargetCast, Horizon, PHD, Mediasmith, and Optimedia, according to Mike Drexler of Drexler/Fajen & Partners, the New York-based consultancy managing the process.
Siemens executives will meet with the agencies next month before cutting to three or four finalists in late August or early September. The company expects to complete the search in October.
Previously a division of Siemens AG, SEC became a separate company in 2008. The company provides telephone, voicemail, and videoconferencing systems for businesses.
The search comes as SEC gears up for a global relaunch that will consist of the introduction of a new name, logo, and positioning in a competitive field that includes Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, and Alcatel-Lucent. Lead creative duties, now at McMillan in Ottawa, are not part of the review.
