New Agency Gets Some IBM Work : But Bulk of Ad Business to Remain With Lord Geller
International Business Machines Corp. said Tuesday that it has assigned some advertising business to the new ad agency formed by former officials of the agency Lord, Geller, Federico, Einstein Inc.
The huge computer concern declined to specify how much business would be going to the new agency, Lord, Einstein, O’Neill & Partners Inc., and said that the bulk of its work remains at Lord Geller.
In a terse statement, the company said “a number of time-dependent advertising items are being assigned on a project basis” to the new agency.
“These short-term assignments are being made to complete IBM work on a timely basis,” it said.
A spokesman for Lord Geller said the agency had no comment on the announcement. Calls to Lord Einstein executives were not returned.
The IBM account reportedly makes up about half of Lord Geller’s estimated $220 million in annual billings. Billings measure what companies spend on advertising, while agencies usually get a percentage for their work.
The advertising community has been watching what IBM does with its ad assignments in the wake of the walkout by six top executives at Lord Geller, including some who had worked on the IBM account.
The six executives walked out March 18 to start Lord Einstein, complaining that they felt constrained under the management of WPP Group PLC, which bought Lord Geller as part of its July, 1987, takeover of JWT Group Inc.
WPP Group has filed a suit in New York state Supreme Court, accusing the executives of breaching their duties as Lord Geller officers and conspiring to take business away from the agency.
Judge Herman Cahn temporarily blocked two of the defectors, Richard Lord and Arthur Einstein Jr., from soliciting or accepting Lord Geller clients.
But the judge left open the possibility that the agency could accept the Lord Geller clients.
WPP said Monday that at its request, Judge Cahn has ordered Lord Einstein to show cause why it should be able to accept business from Lord Geller clients.
