Secure Horizons has awarded its $11 million advertising account to DavisElen, raising the agency’s billings above the $200 million mark.
The Cypress, Calif.-based client, a wholly owned division of PacifiCare Health Systems, awarded creative and media duties to the Los Angeles shop over co-finalist Ogilvy & Mather, also Los Angeles. Early contenders in the pitch included Kovel Kresser & Partners, Venice, Calif., and Point B, Newport Beach, Calif., which previously handled sales and marketing projects for the client. Houston Helm & Co., Los Angeles, which handled general ad duties, declined to participate in the review.
“DavisElen gave fresh thinking to a category which has shown very little difference in strategy, as well as execution,” said Peter Kay, Santa Ana, Calif.-based PacifiCare’s director of corporate communications, who oversaw the review.
Kay praised the agency’s ability to develop brands and drive sales, especially in the automotive and fast-food areas. DavisElen handles Southern California Toyota dealers and regional ads for fast-food chain McDonald’s.
DavisElen’s first print and TV ads for the client are scheduled to break this fall, said Kay.
“The [healthcare] category is a sea of sameness,” said agency president Bob Elen. “No one is doing work that pushes through the clutter.”
“We showed [Secure Horizons] a strategic process and a new way of looking at their business,” added chairman Mark Davis. “We’re very pleased [about the win].”
O&M still handles PacifiCare’s estimated $4 million account. That business was not part of the review.
DavisElen Wins Horizons
