After more than 50 years of having Draftfcb and its predecessors as its advertising agency, SC Johnson has moved its account to two other agencies. Draftfcb parent Interpublic Group is left out in the cold, with SC Johnson splitting its brands between Omnicom’s BBDO and WPP Group’s Ogilvy & Mather.
SC Johnson’s announcement said the new agencies were chosen after a rigorous review of the company’s global marketing needs across traditional advertising, digital, CRM, shopper marketing, direct marketing and media planning and buying.
“We are excited to work with BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather,” said SC Johnson Chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson. “We employed a very rigorous process with very specific criteria and both agencies fit best with our specific future needs and opportunities. It was a very difficult decision and we truly value the many contributions the Draftfcb team has made to the success of our business over a long-standing partnership.”
By splitting the brands, SC Johnson is able to avoid conflicts with other competing consumer product lines at BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather.
BBDO will support Pest Control and Home Storage, while Ogilvy & Mather will support Home Fragrance and Home Cleaning. SC Johnson is based in Racine, WI, between Milwaukee and Chicago. Both BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather will service the account from their Chicago offices.
“We are proud of the great work Draftfcb has delivered to SC Johnson for nearly 60 years and of the powerful brands that the agency helped to build around the world. We are disappointed with today’s decision,” said a statement from Draftfcb parent Interpublic Group. “We remain fully committed to Draftfcb’s integrated model, which has made it among our top performing units in recent years and allowed it to significantly diversify its marketing offerings and revenue base. We will be reviewing transitional plans on the SCJ business, but the impact to our financial results in 2011 will not be material,” added IPG.
