Hotlines

Borders Group Circulates RFP for $15 Mil. Account

DETROIT Borders Group has launched a search for its $15 million ad account. The review is said to involve Coke marketing-czar-turned-consultant Sergio Zyman, sources said. The client sent RFPs to a number of agencies this month, sources said. Borders had worked with Campbell-Ewald in Warren, Mich., on a project basis since May 1999. The IPG agency created print ads and handled point of sale, direct marketing and media buying for Borders, but the shop’s last work was completed in April, an agency rep said. Zyman, of the Zyman Marketing Group in Atlanta, and Borders marketing vp Marilyn Slankard did not return calls. The book and music chain spent an estimated $10 million on ads in 2002, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.



7 New York Shops Pitching To 20-Person Pfizer Panel

NEW YORK Final pitches on three Pfizer brands began last week and will continue through early next week, sources said. Each presentation is two hours, and held before a panel of about 20 people, sources said. Seven New York shops are competing: The Kaplan Thaler Group (Zyrtec, Zoloft); Berlin Cameron/Red Cell (Zyrtec, Bextra); Merkley Newman Harty & Partners (Zyrtec, Zoloft); Publicis (Zoloft, Bextra); Arnold (Zoloft, Bextra); McCann-Erickson (Bextra); and TBWA\ Chiat\Day (Zyrtec, Bextra). Media duties, now at Aegis’ Carat, are unaffected. Sources said each brand’s budget is $50-75 million. Decisions are set for mid-July. A Pfizer rep declined comment.



Grey Gets Interim Contract From California Lottery

SAN FRANCISCO The California Lottery Commission voted Friday to extend its contract with Grey Worldwide on an interim basis until it picks a new shop in the third review for its five-year, $125 million account. The Los Angeles shop’s contract with the state expired May 31. The lottery’s two earlier decisions were thrown out over legal challenges. Other shops that have taken part in the past reviews are Foote, Cone & Belding, San Francisco, and DDB and McCann-Erickson, Los Angeles. The client is expected to issue RFPs in late summer or early fall.



DDB Wins Dell’s $70-90 Mil. Pan-European Work

NEW YORK DDB Worldwide has won pan-European creative chores for Dell Computer following a review, a client rep confirmed. The budget is estimated at $70-90 million. DDB’s London office will oversee the assignment, which includes new initiatives and duties that had been with various shops, the rep said. The Omnicom shop already handles Dell’s domestic account.



American Heart Association Picks Campbell-Ewald

Dallas The American Heart Association chose IPG’s Campbell-Ewald on Friday to craft its first paid-ad effort, the client said. The account is worth $35-40 million over three years. Finalists in the two-month review were Havas’ Arnold in Boston; Omnicom’s DDB in Chicago and Dallas; and Publicis in Mid America in Dallas. The shops made creative presentations earlier in the week. The Rojek Cutcher Group in Cleveland oversaw the process.



Aegis Restructures Global Media Operations

NEW YORK Aegis Group, the U.K.-based parent of media shop Carat, has created a new holding company called Aegis Media and an additional media network, Vizeum. London-based Aegis Media will manage Carat and Vizeum, which launched last week in London and is expected to open in the U.S. next year, an Aegis rep said. Aegis CEO Doug Flynn will add the chairman and CEO post at Aegis Media. David Verklin, CEO of Carat North America, will be regional CEO of Aegis Media for North and Latin America.