Internal Memo: Grey Worldwide CEO Michael Houston on Grey New York Being Named Creative AOR for Discover

By Erik Oster 

Discover selected Grey New York as creative agency of record, following a review. Incumbent agency The Martin Agency had parted ways with the client back in October.

Discover is a sizable account for the agency, having spent more than $285 on media spending in 2018 and a little over $211 million in the first nine months of 2019, according to Kanter Media

The news was announced today by Grey Worldwide CEO Michael Houston in a internal memo obtained by Adweek. In it Houston explains the agency will be responsible for an integrated cross-platform campaign and “the development of a new brand platform that brings to life Discover’s company mission: Solutions for a Brighter Financial Future.”

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He claims Discover cited Grey New York’s  “world-class people, capabilities and track record for building customer-driven brands” as its reason for selecting the agency and touted a string of other recent new business wins for Grey: “Eli Lilly’s Connected Care and Nestlé’s Carnation Breakfast Essentials and Garden Gourmet in North America; Carlsberg and Coca Cola in Europe; Domino’s Pizza Japan, Hong Kong Tourism Board and South Africa Tourist Association in AMEA; and AT&T Mexico and Corona Argentina in Latin America.”

Here’s the memo in its entirety:

I wanted to share some great news with you. Today, Discover, one of the largest payment services companies, awarded their account to Grey New York after a competitive pitch. Grey New York will be responsible for the development of a new brand platform that brings to life Discover’s company mission: Solutions for a Brighter Financial Future. The integrated campaign will live in all key media channels and platforms.Our new client cited our world-class people, capabilities and track record for building customer-driven brands. This is a huge win and we are excited to add this iconic brand to our roster.

The good news doesn’t end there. The Discover victory is the latest in a series of significant new business wins recently across every region: Eli Lilly’s Connected Care and Nestlé’s Carnation Breakfast Essentials and Garden Gourmet in North America; Carlsberg and Coca Cola in Europe; Domino’s Pizza Japan, Hong Kong Tourism Board and South Africa Tourist Association in AMEA; and AT&T Mexico and Corona Argentina in Latin America.

It’s clear Grey is on the right path and we are delivering on our two key priorities: creativity and growth. I am very optimistic about 2020 for the following reasons:

  • We have energized our management ranks with a sweeping infusion of world-class leaders in all major markets
  • Our creative talent and product is the best it has been in years. We are doing our best work for our biggest clients . . . work that matters and impacts culture for Gillette, Pantene, Volvo and GSK to name a few
  • All of us are united behind Grey’s global vision . . . “We are in the business of applied creativity to solve business problems via Famously Effective ideas . . .that leverage culture . . . drive desired consumer behavior . . . and result in positive brand and business performance.”
  • The world, and our industry, continues to face challenging times. But, our single-minded focus on using creativity to fuel growth is paying off. Thanks to our solid financial management, we exceeded our 2019 new business growth target and we’re off to an excellent start for 2020 attracting big blue-chip clients.

Recently, we held our Blueprint session for global leaders in New York to lay out our plans for the year and beyond. I’ll be sharing those as we go.

For today, let’s all take a moment to celebrate our fantastic wins and strong momentum. My sincere thanks to everyone whose creativity, tenacity and dedication I’ve witnessed up close.

Best, Michael

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