Omnicom Forms Javelin Direct for SBC

DALLAS The new agency created by Omnicom Group to handle SBC Communications’ direct marketing duties will be called Javelin Direct, an agency representative said.

The shop will officially open Jan. 1 with an estimated $100 million in SBC billings. Its headquarters will be located in the same Irving, Texas, building as other Omnicom siblings, including Targetbase, another direct marketing agency.

The holding company is creating Javelin to avoid a potential conflict that arose this summer when SBC struck a joint venture with EchoStar, a competitor of Rapp Collins client DirecTV.