Safe at Home -- LD&P Wins $15-20-Mil. HomeBase Biz By J.L. Sulliva

Lord, Dentsu & Partners/L.A. last week won the creative portion of HomeBase Inc.'s $15-20-million account, thanks to strategic research that helpe

The finalists included Kresser/Craig and Suissa Miller in Santa Monica, Calif. and Cohen/Johnson in L.A.
‘I think the overall quality of their thought process, including research and analysis,’ tipped the decision to LD&P, said HomeBase vp/marketing Dave Kenshol. ‘We scored a number of elements . . . and we felt Lord, Dentsu provided us with the best creative team, and we had great chemistry with them.’
Kenshol said HomeBase will launch a campaign in February based on one of three concepts forwarded by LD&P during the pitch. Kenshol stopped short of calling the work a branding campaign, but said the retailer will seek new ways to emphasize quality and service along with price in its bid to separate itself from an increasingly competitive category.
The choice of LD&P for the creative work came on the heels of HomeBase’s decision to place the media buying assignment for its 90-store operation with International Communications Group in Los Angeles. JLP Media in New York handled the media assignment previously. Kenshol said HomeBase officials wanted to keep both the accounts in the same geographic area, close to the retailer’s corporate headquarters. HomeBase also wanted the creative and media agencies in the same region to foster close working relations between the shops, Kenshol added.
The win was the second – after Best Western – for LD&P since it saw a victory on Mazda’s luxury automobile Amati rendered moot when the automaker scrapped production plans.
LD&P is currently on the short list for $5-7 million worth of business for H.J. Heinz and a semifinalist for First Interstate Bank’s $25-30-million account.
HomeBase concluded the review just weeks after a management shake-up attributed to disappointing profits.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)