Late yesterday, America’s third largest wireless service provider finally confirmed what’s been common knowledge within the industry for nearly six weeks: Deutsch LA will be its new strategic/creative agency of record for national television advertising.
Multiple leakers told the ad trades that the review, which began in earnest this September, had turned into a competition between Deutsch CCO Pete Favat and former colleague/Arnold President Pam Hamlin by early November. An internal note from Hamlin to Arnold staffers facilitated our speculative (A+B) – B = A post.
At the time, sources told us that the client had yet to confirm the win and had even floated the possibility of extending the review and bringing in more agencies to compete for the account. Such concerns proved unfounded, though contract negotiations apparently took some time to finalize; Sprint ran Deutsch’s first work earlier this month while claiming that the shop was simply “doing some work for us on a project basis.”
The client gave the exclusive to AdAge, confirming that Deutsch will take over the lead creative/strategic role from Figliulo & Partners (though that shop “will remain on the roster” as well). In his official statement, soon-to-depart CMO Jeff Hallock writes:
“We went through an intense selection process and we are confident in the capabilities of our new partner.”
As Adweek notes, the client spends $450 million on TV spots each year; its estimated annual revenue is $30 million.