Telus has placed its wireline creative account in review, barely four months after the Burnaby, B.C.-based telco awarded its media buying business to Optimum Media Direction Canada (OMD).
The creative account, which one shortlisted agency executive estimates is worth up to $20 million, has resided at Ogilvy & Mather for less than a year, although the Calgary-based shop is expected to keep the Telus Mobility, Yellow Pages and corporate branding assignments.
‘We wanted to have fresh eyes to take a look at our wireline business, to explore possibilities – just to get another creative perspective,’ explains Telus spokesperson Nick Culo of the decision to place the business up for grabs.
Culo would not reveal who was on the shortlist, but a number of Vancouver-based shops are said to have been invited to pitch, including Lanyon Phillips Communications, Bryant Fulton & Shee, Wasserman & Partners Advertising, and Palmer Jarvis DDB, which handles the telco’s media planning and its business-to-business creative.
Although Telus is mainly approaching agencies based in Western Canada, it will likely opt for a shop that has strong capabilities in Ontario as well. As part of its migration eastward, the telco is completing a fibre-optic network in Toronto that is expected to be operational in late 2000. The network will offer a full range of communications services to Toronto residents, and position Telus as a more direct competitor to industry giant Bell Canada.
Telus will hold credentials meetings with a handful of agencies next month, and expects to award the account by the end of February. O&M will continue to work on the wireline business until the end of March.
