Analyst: DraftFCB Becoming IPG 'Concern'

CoorsLight

An industry analyst suggested Friday that DraftFCB is becoming a trouble spot for IPG, as the loss of the MillerCoors creative account has become the latest setback for the Chicago-based agency. Last year, the agency lost business from SC Johnson, prompting Pivotal Research’s Brian Wieser, a former IPG executive, to write that Draft is “increasingly becoming a concern.”

Still, the beer account loss accounts for $10 million to $15 million, or only about 0.2% of IPG’s net revenue, Wieser wrote.

IPG did pick up some business from Bank of America last week. MillerCoors planning duties moved to Initiative from DraftFCB, and thus goes from one IPG unit to another.

Wieser said the MillerCoors loss at Draft “adds additional headwinds to (IPG), which is currently cycling through last year’s losses of SC Johnson, Home Depot, Microsoft and others.” 

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The MillerCoors relationship came to DraftFCB from FCB, which was merged into the agency in 2006. Taco Bell and Merck are believed to be the only large-scale accounts left that came from FCB as the merger sought to merge FCB’s creative cachet with Draft’s “below the line” expertise.

IPG posted a 2.8% growth in organic revenue in the first quarter as overall revenues increased to $1.51 billion. The holding company posted a loss in the quarter for the second year in a row.

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