Arnold Gives BearingPoint a Fresh Start

ATLANTA New print ads for BearingPoint tout the importance of objectivity. The effort, from Arnold in McLean, Va., breaks in business and consumer publications including The Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes and Fortune today.

The work stems from studies conducted by the Havas agency and its client, also located in McLean.

Research revealed concern among clients about whether consultants are truly objective or simply helping sell pre-packaged solutions or hardware from other divisions, said Linda Rebrovick, chief marketing officer at BearingPoint.

Agency president Ken Umansky said the campaign promotes the advertiser’s independence. (BearingPoint is the new name for KPMP’s consulting division, which was spun off from the accounting firm in 2002.) “Consultants have either been tied to accounting firms or now to IT equipment firms,” he said.

The ads feature blank space, symbolizing the company’s message about mapping a fresh course for the future. One shows a CEO’s annual letter to shareholders. The letter, dated 2008, is yet to be written. Copy, penned by Mick Sutter, associate creative director and copywriter at Arnold, reads: “In the future, you have no shareholders. You have no rivals, no partnerships, no customers … No one does. Because the future hasn’t happened yet. It is a white canvas. A clean slate. A blank sheet. How will you write it?”

Campaign spending is undisclosed.