Grey is closing its Dallas office.
The satellite, located in Irving, Texas, will shut down at the end of the month.
The proximate cause, sources suggested, was the loss of two significant advertising accounts to another Dallas shop, The Loomis Agency.
The announcement that Grey would close the 11-person office came the same day Pro-Cuts Franchise Corp. awarded its $2 million creative and media account to Loomis. Pro-Cuts, based in Hurst, Texas, has franchise locations in 38 markets.
A week earlier, Grey lost the estimated $7 million account of the Texas Dairy Queen Operators' Council to Loomis. The Bedford, Texas-based client represents franchisees who operate 650 locations across the state.
Julie Wilson of the Reasons Group in Fort Worth, Texas, conducted both reviews.
The New York and Los Angeles offices of Grey remain Dairy Queen's lead ad agency throughout the rest of North America and abroad.
"While we're disappointed that the [Texas Dairy Queen franchisees] felt they needed a change, we look forward to continuing our partnership around the world," Robert Berenson, vice chairman and general manager of Grey Global Group, said in a statement.
Grey entered the Dallas-area market in 1998, acquiring Regian & Wilson Advertising & Public Relations in Fort Worth.
With that agency acquisition, Grey gained about 55 mostly local clients, whose billings totaled about $30 million. Within a year, that list was down to just two: haircuts and soft ice cream.