Hungry Southland Agencies Swarm Around Small Accounts for Work
Fosters Freeze mostly attracts folks with hankerings for hamburgers, fries and shakes. But last month it also began attracting hungry hordes of advertising agencies.
When the San Luis Obispo-based chain put its relatively paltry $1-million annual ad business into review, it had no idea that more than 40 agencies would respond--most of them from Southern California.
“It must be pretty tough out there,” said Tony Tashkoff, vice president of marketing at Fosters Freeze. “Maybe a few years ago we wouldn’t have attracted this kind of interest. We happened to fall in at the right place at the right time.”
Tiny advertisers are suddenly being pursued by agencies as if they were veritable Procter & Gambles. The UC Davis Medical Center recently put its $1-million annual ad budget up for review. It heard from more than 80 agencies--about 30 of which are in Southern California. One reason that so many agencies were interested in the state-run facility is that, unlike some clients, the state pays its bills, ad executives said.
But when the Bay Area-based Supercuts chain recently placed its relatively small, $4-million ad business up for grabs, it heard from more than 90 agencies--many from the Los Angeles market.
“You’ll continue to see a lot more of this kind of thing in 1991,” said James K. Agnew, the Los Angeles ad man who recently resigned as the top executive in the Los Angeles office of J. Walter Thompson. “These days, smaller accounts are being inundated by agencies.”
Why? Well, some small agencies with low overhead can actually make money off the tiny accounts. Other agencies hope that the solid, small accounts can eventually grow to become substantial moneymakers. But often the reason is more complex. Some agencies have to give the appearance of attracting new business so that they can eventually attract the clients they really want. Others will take just about anything simply to keep their employees working.
The overall problem is this: Los Angeles has too many agencies and not enough ad business. Agencies will scramble for just about anything more than $1 million. And when bigger pieces of business are occasionally put into review here, agencies from Seattle to Santa Barbara trip over each other in the wild chase. Dole was besieged by agencies when it put its $35-million account into review. And when Carl’s Jr. placed its $20-million account up for bids last week, a company spokeswoman said she received calls from agencies before the public announcement.
As for the Fosters’ ad business, that was won late last week by the Los Angeles agency Campbell & Wagman. The win was good news for the ad firm, which has seen its business shrink over the past year as client First Interstate Bankcorp has cut back on advertising. “It’s a sign of the times,” said Craig Campbell, president of Campbell & Wagman. “You pitch everything that moves.”
“Agencies here are desperate to get new business,” said Brad Ball, president of the Los Angeles agency Davis, Ball & Colombatto. “The interest level in a $1-million piece of business has heightened as a result of leaner times. It’s the new reality.”
His agency’s Sacramento bureau has already shown its interest in the $1-million UC Davis Medical Center ad business. But consider that Davis Ball ranks among the Top 20 in Los Angeles. “It’s like filling up a food basket,” Ball said. A lot of agencies are willing to take three $1-million accounts instead of one $3-million account, he said.
L.A. Agency Wins Albertsons Account
Albertsons food and drug store chain has awarded its $15-million to $20-million annual advertising account to Kresser/Craig, Los Angeles. The Boise, Ida.-based chain, the sixth largest in the nation, said it made the change from its agency of 17 years, Foote, Cone & Belding, without a formal agency review. “Kresser/Craig showed us some really outstanding creative and media planning that showcased their retail marketing capabilities,” said Jim Reynolds, Albertsons vice president for marketing.
Spin Runs Benetton’s Racy Condom Ad
It’s hardly the kind of ad you’d expect a major clothing retailer to run. The ad, which appears in the March issue of Spin magazine, doesn’t show any clothing at all. It simply shows pictures of multicolored condoms stretched to their full lengths.
The only writing in the ad is the firm’s logo: United Colors of Benetton.
Even by Benetton’s standards, this ad is racy. Benetton is perhaps best known for its print ads featuring people of various ethnic groups holding hands, embracing and kissing.
But the condom ad was rejected by a number of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle and Glamour. “I guess they were afraid of reader response,” said Peter Fressola, director of communications at Benetton U.S.A.
So why is Spin running the ad? The better question is: How could it not? Two years ago, Spin gave away about 300,000 free condoms in its newsstand issues. The condoms were part of a promotion partially underwritten by the condom maker Trojan.
Miller’s Outpost Ties In With Rubin Postaer
Can Honda’s agency give Miller’s Outpost better mileage for its ad dollars?
Last week, officials from Miller’s confirmed that the 340-store retail clothing chain had handed the creative portion of its business to Rubin Postaer & Associates. The advertising had been done in-house. Davis Ball & Colombatto will continue to buy media time for the ads.
The size of the business was not revealed but industry executives estimate that it could eventually exceed several million dollars.
Miller’s ranks among the largest sellers of jeans in the Los Angeles area, about 25% of all jeans sold here. “Our strategy is to capitalize on that,” said Carmen Monaco, vice president of marketing for Miller’s.
What does Rubin Postaer have up its sleeve for Miller’s? Chairman Gerry Rubin won’t say. But Rubin Postear enjoyed great success with its former clothing client, Bugle Boy. The agency created the popular commercial tag line, “Are those Bugle Boy jeans you’re wearing?”
Keye/Donna May Stay Open as Smaller Firm
The fate of the Los Angeles ad agency Keye/Donna/Pearlstein remains up in the air.
Chairman Paul Keye--and about 10 employees--will soon depart to join the Seattle agency Livingston & Co. That firm, which has opened a Los Angeles office, is expected to be renamed Livingston & Keye.
Executives from both agencies declined to comment on specifics. But during the past few weeks, most of Keye/Donna’s employees were told that they would not have their jobs much longer.
Meanwhile, sources at Keye/Donna/Pearlstein now say that President and Chief Executive Leonard Pearlstein is still considering keeping the agency open--in a vastly reduced form. They say Pearlstein has talked with a handful of employees about remaining on board to handle the Bridgestone tire advertising business.
