US Army Switches Ad Firms With 5-Yr, $1.35B Award
Dec 13, 2010 14:48 EST
Follow-on contract. (Dec 10/10)
In December 2005, AdAge reported that the U.S. Army had awarded the US government’s largest single ad account to Interpublic Group of Cos. McCann Erickson, New York, NY, following a series of on-again, off again account reviews. The army said the contract could be worth up to $1.35 billion over 5 years.
The account had drawn fire because Publicis Groupe Leo Burnett USA’s original contract, slated to end in 2003, was repeatedly extended. In making the 2005 award, the Army decided against renewing its contract, but they did extend the contract with Leo Burnett one last in September 2005, in order to avoid an interruption in advertising during the transition period.
Agencies involved in the winning bid included creative agency McCann, media agency Universal McCann, MRM for digital and interactive, Momentum for event marketing, and public relations agency Weber Shandwick. Competitor finalists were WPP Group’s Ogilvy & Mather in New York, NY; and Omnicom Group’s BBDO in Atlanta, GA.
Burnett continued working on the account through a 3-month transition period, which meant that creative output from McCann wouldn’t have an impact much before summer 2006. This is normal for major ad accounts. That impact was most noticeable in the replacement of the “Army of One” ads with a new “Army Strong” theme.
Contracts & Key Events
Dec 10/10: McCann World Group Inc. in New York, NY received a $75 million fixed-price-award-fee National Advertising Contract is to provide marketing and advertising support for US Army personnel acquisition and retention programs.
Work is to be performed in New York, NY, with an estimated completion date of June 6/11. The CECOM Contracting Center at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD manages this contract (W15P7T-06-D-C002).
Dec 7/05: McCann Erickson, New York, is being awarded an estimated $1.35 billion firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for the planning and implementation of advertising, promotional and publicity programs to support all recruiting and retention programs for the active-duty Army and the U.S. Army Reserve. This includes a full range of services, from developing a tactical advertising strategy to producing advertising using numerous communications methods including television, radio, print and Internet site, direct marketing, promotions, and events.
The contract could run until Dec 6/11, based on a 5 year contract that consists of a base period of 2 years, plus 3 individual 1-year options. The Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (CECOM) Acquisition Center at Fort Monmouth, NJ manages this contract (W15P7T-06-D-C002).
