NEW YORK The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia has awarded its $9 million marketing account to a team of Interpublic Group companies that include Sawyer Miller Advertising and Weber Shandwick, the client and agencies confirmed.
Sharing the chores with Sawyer Miller and Weber Shandwick, both New York, are IPG shops Rogers & Cowan in Los Angeles; Powell Tate in Washington; and KRC Research and FutureBrand, both in New York.
"We were very impressed by their presentation and the depth of their company group," said client representative Mary Petitt, who declined further comment.
The win comes nearly a month and a half after the review began, and nearly one month after the decision was originally due on May 9. Two deadline extensions slowed the pace that had been laid out in request for credentials forms mailed to agencies in early April. Work was slated to begin on June 2.
Credentials meetings with as many as eight shops were held at the beginning of May, and no further sessions were held, sources said.
The client was seeking an agency with experience marketing beverages to 18- to 34-year-olds and niche markets such as college students and young working professionals.
The organization's Juan Valdez spokescharacter had been the centerpiece of marketing efforts a generation ago, placed in ads for many years by Omnicom's DDB, New York, which at one point held the account for about 30 years. However, the client had done no domestic advertising in recent years.