Dell Computer Corp. hired Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston, to handle direct marketing and catalog work for the small and medium-size business segment and Haggin Marketing Inc., Sausalito, CA, for its consumer catalog business.
Hill, Holliday will share its responsibility with incumbent T3, The Think Tank, an Austin, TX, shop. Haggin replaces an agency whose identity was not disclosed.
An agency review of undisclosed shops was conducted by Mitchell & McCue, a Dallas marketing consultancy, for Round Rock, TX-based Dell. Billings on the U.S.-based accounts were not disclosed.
“They brought us on board to make their corporate brand work harder in a direct medium, and to … expand their small and medium-sized business target,” said Kelly Mahoney, executive vice president and director of relationship marketing at Hill, Holliday.
Mahoney's agency is charged with growing Dell's small and medium-size business catalog. The book already is one of the leading market players, offering personal computers, notebooks and handhelds to small businesses and consumers.
Hill, Holliday will develop integrated business-to-business marketing strategies and programs supported by creative and catalog production services. Catalogs, mail, postcards and self-mailers will be used.
A subsidiary of New York-based agency holding firm Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., Hill, Holliday has current billings of $1 billion from its three offices, including New York and San Francisco. Clients include Dunkin' Donuts, American Healthways, Verizon Wireless, FleetBoston Financial, CVS/pharmacy and Anheuser-Busch.
T3, on the other hand, is far smaller than Hill, Holliday. But it is independent. The 14-year-old agency has capitalized billings of $95 million from its two offices, including New York. The client roster includes JC Penney, Sprint, Nortel Networks, Samsung Telecommunications and the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Meanwhile, Haggin will work on Dell Home Systems, offering tactical planning, creative development and print production. It will use catalogs, mail, postcards and self-mailers.
“The home market represents a significant business opportunity for growth for Dell, and we hope to take their catalogs and direct marketing programs to a new level to improve their effectiveness and return,” said Jeff Haggin, president of his self-named agency.
With its roots going back to 1984, Haggin has clients like Hallmark Cards Inc., Hallmark Gold Crown, Sunglass Hut International and its Watch Station and Watch World siblings, Eddie Bauer and Good Guys Electronics. The shop specializes in direct and catalog marketing as well as retail advertising.
