Yet another retailer has chosen new horses. Weeks after JCPenney and HHGregg hired new agencies, Staples has shifted its creative and media business to mcgarrybowen and Carat, respectively, according to sources.
Staples spends an estimated $85 million in media annually.
McCann Erickson in New York had been Staples' lead creative agency since 2004. The Interpublic Group shop was part of a trio of incumbents that defended in a review of all of Staples' ad business; the others were Publicis Groupe's Razorfish (digital marketing) and WPP Group's MediaCom (media planning and buying).
Four shops pitched for the lead creative role: mcgarrybowen, McCann, Deutsch in New York and Hill Holiday in Boston, but Deutsch and Hill Holliday exited after a round of presentations two weeks ago, sources said. That left McCann and mcgarrybowen for a final round of meetings at Staples last week.
Mcgarrybowen will handle the creative assignment out of its New York headquarters. The agency and Staples, which is based in Framingham, Mass., could not immediately be reached.
The review, which began in February, was managed by Select Resources International in Santa Monica, Calif.
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