• by John Gaffney , May 5, 2003

The rumored split between Nextel and Mullen was made official today. The cell phone and communications account - estimated at north of $150 in billings - announced it has selected TBWA\Chiat\Day New York as its creative agency of record.

The move was a blow to a medium sized agency like Mullen, despite the fact that it reportedly will keep the online portion of the business. Nextel also awarded its direct marketing responsibilities to TEQUILA\New York, TBWA's recently formed marketing services network.

"We're delighted to begin this new partnership with TBWA\Chiat\Day," said Mark Schweitzer, senior vice president of marketing for Nextel. "From the outset, Nextel has approached the market differently, determined to offer unrivaled services to business and government customers. We're looking forward to collaborating with this extremely talented and results-driven agency team to take the Nextel brand to the next level."

A Nextel spokesperson said the company is "looking into" a separate media buying agency. That review will be completed over the next few weeks.

Mullen's tenure with Nextel was marked by record results. Nextel recently announced a stellar Q1 with income of $208 million compared with a loss of $654 million for the same period last year. Nextel added approximately 480,000 subscribers during the first quarter, finishing the quarter with approximately 11.1 million subscribers.