4 Bid For Ryland In Southeast

The five Southeast divisions of Ryland South Builders, a branch of The Ryland Group, Columbia, Md., heard pitches this week from four agencies vying for the regional account.
Lipphardt Advertising, Tampa, Fla.; Erwin-Penland and Henderson Advertising, both Greenville, S.C.; and Corder & Phillips, Charlotte, N.C., made presentations at the home builders’ Tampa division, hoping to land an account which sources close to the process said is budgeted at $2 million annually.
Ryland’s southern region is represented by Goswick Advertising, a Houston shop devoted almost exclusively to marketing residential developers. Client representatives said that no matter what the outcome of the Southeast review, Goswick would remain its agency of record and retain the remainder of the southern accounts and its other U.S. business.
At least two agency sources speaking on the condition of anonymity, however, said their shops were told the Southeast winner will be laying the foundation for a relationship that subsequently would have the opportunity to pursue the entire southern region. That territory includes three divisions in Texas roughly equal in size financially to the five Southeast units.
Anne Madison, vice president of corporate communications at Ryland, denied that Goswick was in danger of losing its southern business.
Though Madison said Gos-wick Advertising remained a contender in the Southeast, agency principal David Goswick said his shop was told Ryland was looking for a firm closer to its units and would “probably not” defend the account.
Ryland’s Southeast divisions are in Atlanta; Charleston, S.C.; Greenville, N.C.; and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. The Texas units are located in Dallas, Houston and a combined Austin/San Antonio market.
“We hope to have something completed by the new year,” Madison said. –with Jim Osterman and Glen Fest