New agencies fail all the time. Rarely do they land a $220 million account just months after opening their doors.
According to Ad Age, San Francisco startup Pereira & O’Dell is one of the lucky ones. The shop, formed by former AKQA staffers, has been tapped as the lead creative agency for the University of Phoenix, a for-profit educational institution owned by Phoenix-based Apollo Group.
Pereira & O’Dell beat out Arnold and Mullen for the business.
The work Pereira & O’Dell presented showed “they want to be connected to the democratization of education in this country,” said Michael Sullivan, senior VP-marketing and media services with Aptimus, a subsidiary of Apollo Group.
