Credit One Bank Names Deutsch LA Creative, Branding and Media Agency of Record

Despite being a sizable firm, Credit One Bank found itself struggling to amplify its brand awareness. It's doubling down on those efforts now, having named full-service agency Deutsch LA its agency of record across creative, media and brand work. The brand team expanded its focus beyond media, inviting integrated agency competitors to the pitch. Dallas-based full-service shop The TRG Agency was the incumbent and had worked with Credit One for about five years. This collaboration marks a new chapter for Credit One, which is executing a growth strategy to broaden its impact on the competitive financial services industry. For Deutsch LA, it's a significant win that displays the agency's propensity for taking on full-service work for a large consumer brand. Historically, the bulk of its revenue came from creative services, but it's been aggressively growing its media practice in recent years. This win signals that it's ready to compete with legacy media agencies for work, something that can be an uphill battle. "We're looking to take it to the next level, which dovetails into our ultimate goal," Amber Greenwalt, svp, brand and advertising at Credit One Bank, told ADWEEK. "That is to become a household credit card issuer for products that range across the whole entire spectrum." Mediahub Is Adweek’s US Media Agency of the Year Inside the review The brand team eschewed a pitch consultant and ran the review itself, which took tapping employees who knew the industry and creating a list of invitees. Credit One began by searching for agencies that had strong media and analytics strategies. Those were crucial, given the brand's aim to optimize its buying. "At a brand level, we want to reach a pool of people, but then the various different products reach various different audiences and we wanted to create less waste," Greenwalt said. Greenwalt invited eight agencies to the review, which she declined to name. Five of them pitched, but in the end it came down to TRG and Deutsch LA. "Through that process, we got exposed to much more than what we were asking for," Greenwalt said. Seeking integrated agencies Deutsch LA brought its business intelligence team to the pitch, demonstrating its test-and-learn strategy that validates audience insights in real time. It helped Greenwalt understand that the agency is truly integrated. "We were able to see analytics really being used and leveraged in developing strategies, as well as creative opportunities," she said. Having previously worked on the agency side at McCann Worldgroup, Greenwalt knew she wanted an agency with creative chops. But it also had to have the strategic prowess to help the brand "carve out the next five years." Adweek’s 2023 U.S. Agency of the Year Finalists All the agencies she invited to pitch were integrated, to varying degrees. "I've worked agency side for a lot of years. You know, [creative and media] need to be connected," Greenwalt said. She plans to work with other IPG agencies to supplement Deutsch LA's offering. The partners' first work will launch in May, and the brand is activating across channels including cable, linear, CTV, social media, OTT and direct mail. "We’ve assembled an incredible integrated team here at Deutsch LA. Credit One is the perfect client to be able to implement our full offering," Deutsch LA evp and head of media Lauren Tetuan said in a statement to ADWEEK. "Modern clients come to us for more dynamic, creative and targeted solutions, so we believe our teams and talent should work together seamlessly."