With ambitious plans that call for expansion of the 90 or so stores it operates in the East, high-end men’s apparel marketer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers has initiated a review for its estimated $10 million advertising account.
The client has contacted at least four undisclosed advertising agencies, sources said. It is possible that the review could be wrapped within the next few weeks.
Glenn Christenson, director of retail marketing for Jos. A. Bank in Hampstead, Md., declined to comment on the account review.
It was unclear at press time whether the men’s clothing company currently retains an advertising agency.
W.B. Doner & Co. in Southfield, Mich., handled the Jos. A. Bank advertising account between 1994 and 1996. Doner officials could not be reached late last week for comment on the state of their relationship with the men’s clothier.
The retailer spent $1 million on a television campaign that appeared on the CNN Headline News cable channel in 1997. The company viewed that advertising as a “key component to long-term brand awareness,” according to its 1997 annual report.
The television commercial featured a white-haired tailor, who could be Bank himself, talking about how he “never had much use for high-priced stores, with their airs of superiority.” He goes on to explain that Jos. A. Bank has cut out the high-priced middleman to sell finely crafted men’s suits directly to customers at reasonable prices.
The tagline on the television commercial was: “Classic men’s clothing, unconditionally guaranteed.”
The annual report also states the company’s desire to add 65 stores to its retail chain by the year 2000.
A $10 million advertising budget would more than double last year’s outlay, when Jos. A. Bank spent $4 million, according to Competitive Media Reporting.
The retail company also operates a catalog business.
Men's Clothier Launches Review
