from Lewis Lazare: After spending what some sources said was upwards of a whopping $700,000 on an elaborate pitch, Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago has failed to land the whopper piece of new business. On Tuesday the agency was notified it had lost out in its bid for the $240 million Kia Motors America account. C-K was one of four finalists for the business after Kia executives earlier this year launched an agency review because they reportedly wanted to see what else was out there, an impetus that, on its surface, was disturbingly wishy-washy.
In the end, the carmaker opted to stay with its incumbent ad agency, David & Goliath/Los Angeles, a decision that had to make the C-K loss that much more difficult to accept. C-K President Peter Krivkovich and executive creative director Marshall Ross were both unavailable for comment.
By all accounts, C-K went all out to win the business. “It was a very intense effort for us,” said a C-K spokeswoman. Sources said the agency brought in large numbers of free-lance creative talent to help prep for the pitch.
“elaborate” doesn’t mean the pitch was any good, just that it was “elaborate”. Maybe the reason the account didn’t move was that single fact: the pitch was elaborate and the ideas weren’t.
I could elaborate further, but I won’t.