This story was updated at 14:32 on Nov. 15, 2013
Rogers Communications has issued an RFP to Canada’s communication agencies, launching a review for a single agency of record to oversee its national English and French creative advertising and retail marketing.
Shelagh Stoneham
The invite list includes the incumbent Publicis Canada, which has been Rogers’ agency of record for the past eight years. The Montreal-based Marketel currently oversees the brand’s French-language brand work, but is not involved in the review.
The rest of the invite list includes DentsuBos, Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi, MDC Partner’s Anomaly and KBS+ Canada, Omnicom’s BBDO, DDB and TBWA, as well as WPP’s JWT and Y&R.
Rogers confirmed that its media, PR and direct accounts are not included in the RFP. On the table are creative duties for all Rogers Communication properties except its Fido and Chatr wireless brands (currently run by DentsuBos and Wurstlingroup, respectively). According to research by media agency GroupM, Rogers was the second biggest advertiser in Canada in 2012, spending $145 million. Only Procter & Gamble spent more. That budget is not expected to change drastically over the next year, but Shelagh Stoneham, senior vice-president, general manager of brands and marketing communications for Rogers Communications, said the company does expect a greater focus on ROI.
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Stoneham told Marketing that the agency review is being driven by two factors: the company’s desire for a single national AOR “to drive efficiency and effectiveness,” and the ever-shifting, ever-digitizing consumer landscape.
“It’s been eight years since our last creative agency RFP. Over the course of those eight years, a lot has changed. Digital used to be only 2% to 3% of our spend. Now it’s over 20%. We felt it was time to recalibrate.”
The company expects the review to end in March 2014. Stoneham said the company is going to great lengths to make its review process best-in-class and is working with CTDConsultants New York. The review will be split into two phases—presentations and Q&As followed by “light” project work for shortlisted contenders.
“We’ve structured it so that there will be no work over Christmas,” she said. “I think this sets the tone for how we want to be a great partner.”
Disclosure: Rogers Communications owns Marketing magazine and MarketingMag.ca
