Capital Trio Claims Texas Job

The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded a $3 million marketing contract to thepartnership of Fleishman-Hillard, TKO Ad- vertising and The Davis Group.

Fleishman-Hillard’s Austin, Texas, office will provide public relations support. TKO Advertising and The Davis Group, both of Austin, are responsible for the creative assignment and media planning and buying duties, respectively.

The other finalists in the review were Christian Hubble and Kolar Advertising, both of Austin, and Gilbreath Communications of Houston, according to the client. The contract expires in 2004.

The Texas Workforce Commission was established in 1995 as the state agency charged with providing development services to both employers and job seekers. The commission works with 28 localized workforce boards across Texas.

The winning partnership will initially market the commission’s new online employment service, called WorkInTexas.com, which will match employees and employers at no charge. The initial television commercials showcasing the Web site will break in January. Print and support materials are expected to complement the TV effort.

The greater portion of the partnership’s assignment is a branding campaign designed to reposition the commission as a resource that job seekers and employers can use not only to find each other, but also to access information like labor market statistics and training tips.

“Right now the perception is that the Texas Workforce Commission is where you go to get an unemployment check,” said TKO co-creative director Raul Garza, “but we need to make it relevant to all people doing business in Texas.”

The larger campaign, which breaks during the second quarter of 2003, will target both business-to-consumer and business-to-business audiences, the client said.

The three agencies impressed the commission with their understanding of the branding effort’s complexity, said Leslie Mueller, director of customer outreach and relations for the client, as well as their ability “to find new ways to extend every dollar to get maximum coverage.”

The three-agency team has worked together on other projects, most recently one for the city of Austin’s mayoral office.

AIM Research in El Paso, Texas, will conduct focus groups and handle other research needs for the commission assignment.