TORONTO – Sprint Canada Inc. has tapped BBDO Canada Inc. to handle its estimated $23 million ad account for residential long distance and business-to-business communications activities.
Sprint, a wholly owned division of Call-Net Enterprises Inc., which has the rights to the Sprint name in Canada, began searching for a new agency in January after splitting with Grey Advertising, its agency of record for general advertising and direct marketing for the past five years.
Andy Krupski, president of Sprint’s residential and SOHO division, said he believes BBDO will be a “good cultural fit” with Sprint’s marketing department.
Krupski, who declined to reveal the other agencies involved in the pitch, has already parceled out ad responsibility for Sprint’s local market and Internet services divisions, both of which were previously with Grey.
Response Innovations picked up the former account, while Vickers and Benson Direct and Interactive won the latter. Both agencies are from Toronto.
Harrison Young Pesonen & Newell of Toronto, a division of New York’s Omnicom Group Ltd., which also owns BBDO, continues to handle media planning and buying.
A key component of BBDO’s assignment will be to create advertising in support of Sprint’s introduction of e-commerce and data products for small businesses.
That portion of the account is expected to grow faster than long distance, as Sprint Canada moves to position itself as a leader in business communications.
BBDO worked on the Bell Canada account for 15 years until 1998, when the business was consolidated with cross-town rival Cossette Communication-Marketing.
