Eddie Bauer Begins West Coast Search

By Joan Voight and Kathy Tyrer





SAN FRANCISCO–Southern California agencies BBDO West, TBWA Chiat/Day and Team One Advertising are among the shops invited to talk to Eddie Bauer about its estimated $4-8 million account.





The Seattle retailer severed ties with Black Rocket in San Francisco last week and put its account into review.





Eddie Bauer, owned by Spiegel, has compiled a list of six to eight West Coast shops in the closed review, according to company representative Cheryl Engstrom. She declined to name the agencies under consideration. The review is expected to draw to a close by July 1.





‘The decision (to part with Black Rocket) was entirely mutual,’ said Engstrom. The company’s global brand director Jack Sansolo and the agency ‘had two different visions for the brand direction,’ she said. Sansolo joined Bauer last fall, several months after Black Rocket was hired.





Executives at Black Rocket as well as at the contacted shops declined to comment.





The retailer is focusing on mid-sized to large shops with strong creative reputations, said sources.





Sansolo, a former Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos executive, wants a bigger presence for Eddie Bauer, with sophisticated image advertising that stresses quality, said insiders.





The search is expected to include at least one Northwest shop. One invited agency, TBWA Chiat/Day’s Venice, Calif., office has a potential conflict with Bass, handled by the agency’s New York office. Hal Riney & Partners handled the account previously.





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