PEOPLE PLEASIN’

PeopleSoft of Pleasanton, Calif., has asked Saatchi & Saatchi in San Francisco to make a final creative presentation to management for the software maker’s estimated $10 million advertising account.
“It is premature to say that Saatchi has been selected as our new agency,” said Ellen Brout, corporate advertising manager at PeopleSoft. “Manage-ment needs to give their final approval, and the presentation is not until later this month. However, Saatchi is being recommended at this time.”
Other finalists for the account were incumbent W. B. Doner in Baltimore and Young & Rubicam, San Francisco. Brout added that PeopleSoft liked Y&R’s work and said, “We let both Y&R and Doner know that we may ask them to make presentations to management as well.”
Sources close to Y&R have said that the agency is out of the review, however. Doner executives could not be reached for comment.
The client was reportedly satisfied with Doner’s work, but wanted to hire a shop located closer to its Northern California headquarters. Doner recently won the ad account of software maker Documentum, Pleasanton, Calif., based partly on its success with PeopleSoft.
-Jane Irene Kelly