Southern Methodist Awards Advertising To Richards/Gravelle

Richards/Gravelle has won the advertising account of Southern Methodist University.

The shop, an affiliate of The Richards Group in Dallas, bested J. Walter Thompson and two other local finalists in a review, according to sources. Incumbent Krause Associates did not participate. Billings are undisclosed.

SMU, also in Dallas, wants to define its brand in a way that relates the university to its six degree-granting schools.

"They are in the retail business in a lot of ways," said David Gra-velle, agency principal. "They offer multiple degrees and programs and they need to drive traffic to them."

Previous work was limited to print advertising. R/G will test In-ternet marketing and radio messages this summer.