Brand MarketingTalent, Music Broker Names FinalistsBy Ann M. Mack |June 5, 2003ShareBy Ann M. Mack |June 5, 2003ShareNEW YORK Five East Coast shops have advanced in the race for The Albert Co.’s creative account, according to Barbara Gans Russo, president of the client’s New York operations.Making the cut from a field of eight semifinalists are Trahan, Burden & Charles in Baltimore, Interpublic Group’s Tierney DeGregorio Advertising in Philadelphia and New York shops DiNoto Lee, Christy MacDougall Mitchell Bodden and The Concept Farm, Russo said. A date for final presentations has not been set.Based in Carmel, Calif., The Albert Co. negotiates with talent agents and music publishers on behalf of ad agencies to arrange celebrity appearances or secure song rights for campaigns. Deals the company has brokered include getting the Rolling Stones song “Start Me Up” for Ford Motor Company and the Beatles’ “All Together Now” for Verizon Communications.AAR Partners is the New York consultancy managing the review [Adweek Online, Feb. 20].This will be the first time The Albert Co. has hired an ad agency in its 27-year history. Work will target ad agency professionals. A media budget has not yet been determined, Russo said. Adweek Adweek