It’s been nearly five months since health insurance brand Cigna announced that it was reviewing its advertising account, but now we hear it’s coming down to the home stretch. Sources familiar with the matter confirm to us that one of the agencies duking it out in the pitch is GSD&M, which most recently dropped the “Idea City” part of its name as you know. While Cigna’s projected spending is fairly modest at around $20 million, the Austin-based agency sure could use a boost after a fairly rough end to 2010/start in 2011 in which the brand axed its CCO, resigned BMW and watched its Norwegian Cruise Line account go into play.
According to Adweek, Cigna’s incumbent agency, Omnicom-owned Doremus, was expected to participate when the review was launched. Other agencies involved in the pitch were not disclosed.