Shop Adds E-Stamp Biz to Clientele; Account Has USPS OK
NEW YORK--FCB Worldwide has received the stamp of approval by E-Stamp Corp. to handle advertising and media duties. Billings were undisclosed, but the client spent $5 million on media last year, per Competitive Media Reporting.
Sources estimated E-Stamp will spend $20-30 million over the next nine months on the integrated marketing effort, which includes TV, print, radio, outdoor and online work. A campaign is expected to launch in the third quarter, sources said.
The account shifted when the Redwood City, Calif., client consolidated its business at FCB, New York, said Dave Shinnebarger, client vice president and general manager of the mailing systems business unit.
Via a deal with the U.S. Postal Service, customers can buy postage from the client's Web site, www.E-Stamp.com, download it then print it without logging on again. The client primarily targets small businesses.
"FCB is familiar with the category," he said, referring to the estimated $60 million in USPS business FCB handles. "[This] is an evolving category, so we have an opportunity to shape it."
Jeff Tarakajian, president of FCB, said, "Having a unified brand position and brand communication is foremost for the client right now, as is driving revenue in the short term."
Shinnebarger worked with FCB as a USPS marketing manager from 1995 to 1998 and hired the shop when he joined E-Stamp last month from McKinsey & Co.
Agencies that were on the client's roster before the consolidation included Pickholz + Tweedy, New York; Catapult, San Mateo, Calif.; Lot21, San Francisco; and KF Guerrilla, Portland, Ore. Butler, Shine & Stern, Sausalito, Calif., created the client's TV campaign, which broke last fall.
Two spots show a man leaving his home or office to wait in line at the post office; he returns after many years to find a different or aged wife. Two others offer funny, timesaving tips for small-business owners.
E-Stamp's direct competitor is Stamps.com, another authorized USPS online postage provider.