6 Advance in H&R Block Review

DALLAS H&R Block has narrowed its Hispanic account review to six agencies, according to consultancy Select Resources International of West Hollywood, Calif.

They are: Interpublic Group’s Casanova Pendrill of Irvine, Calif.; WPP Group’s Mendoza, Dillon & Asociados of Aliso Viejo, Calif.; and independents cruz/kravetz:IDEAs of Culver City, Calif.; The Vidal Partnership, New York; and Zubi Advertising and Creative On Demand, both Coral Gables, Fla.

SRI president Catherine Bension said the Kansas City, Mo.-based client will meet with the agencies over the next several weeks and make another cut. A final decision will be made by mid-April, she said.

Billings are undisclosed. The client spent less than $100,000 on media last year through November, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, but Bension said the actual billings are “significantly higher.”

Incumbent Dieste Harmel & Partners, Dallas, did not defend. The Omnicom-backed shop recently contended for the estimated $2-3 million Hispanic account of GE Financial Assurance in Richmond, Va. That business went to Zubi Advertising, but Dieste picked up corporate Hispanic advertising chores for GE.