• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, February 12, 2014

Italian Appliance maker De’Longhi’s North America division has selected Interpublic Group’s Lowe Campbell Ewald for advertising duties following a review, the companies said Wednesday. The account will be handled out of the agency’s New York office.

The review was said to involve three or four additional agencies which could not be immediately identified. There was no incumbent and the assignment marks the company’s first consumer advertising initiative in the U.S.

In addition to creative duties, the exact scope of work is still being finalized, according to sources. According to Kantar, De’Longhi North America spent $264,000 on measured media in 2012 and $22,000 through the first nine months of 2013. Spending is expected to rise to multiple millions going forward, although the client declined to say how much it was planning to spend.  

“Our team was extremely impressed with Lowe Campbell Ewald’s experience in building business, as well as the unique, disciplined process of gathering consumer insights to lead creative development,” said Linda Passaro, vice president of marketing, De’Longhi North America Inc. “We are eager to begin building our partnership and to launching our marketing efforts in North America, bringing the De’Longhi Italian experience to consumers at home.”

Sal Taibi, president of Lowe Campbell Ewald’s New York office, said the win, “speaks to the capabilities Lowe Campbell Ewald offers -- international expertise through Lowe, a national network with offices throughout the U.S., and a New York base that serves as a launching pad for global marketers.”

For LCE it’s the first win for the shop’s New York office, which opened its doors Jan. 1. The office also confirmed for the first time the identity of its other clients which include, Unilever, Snuggle and the Milk Processor Education Program, as well as other brands in the Lowe Campbell Ewald U.S. portfolio such as Cadillac, the United States Navy and OnStar.

LCE, which IPG re-aligned with Lowe and Partners in July, also has offices in Los Angeles and San Antonio. The realignment came shortly after LCE teamed with Lowe and Hill Holliday on a joint pitch that won the global Cadillac Business. LCE now serves as Lowe’s U.S. hub (effectively replacing Deutsch in that role).