Unilever has awarded BBDO Worldwide's online branding agency @tmosphere, New York, a multimillion dollar Web marketing and advertising contract for its Caress line of shower, bath and lotion products.
The assignment, which is being characterized as “the largest online initiative in the brand's history,” will involve promotional tie-ins with cable television channel MTV, a biweekly electronic newsletter titled Idol Talk and the creation of a new Caress brand Web site, including a comprehensive consumer evaluation program. Additional Internet advertising begins this month on MSN, iVillage and MTV.
Kathy O'Brien, group brand manager at Unilever, London, said the company wanted to incorporate more creative online media to increase the brand's appeal to “contemporary younger women.” Additionally, she said the Caress brand would benefit from @tmosphere's relationship with its parent company, BBDO New York, which handles offline marketing for Caress.
“We were simply impressed with the quality of this agency's work for other clients as well as its ability to work seamlessly and synergistically with BBDO New York,” O'Brien said.
Susan Pinkwater, president/CEO of @tmosphere, called the new account win “a major coup for our agency.” She also noted that @tmosphere has recently rung up more than $50 million in new business assignments from companies including ft.com, leisureplanet.com, Realestate.com and Sonic Innovations.
@tmosphere was launched in August 1999 by BBDO New York, the flagship office of BBDO Worldwide. The agency's focus is online site design, marketing, e-commerce solutions, media branding and buying services. Other @tmosphere clients include General Electric, M&M/Mars, Visa and the U.S. Navy.
