• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 31, 2017

In July McCann’s bid for a renewal of its U.S. Army contract was eliminated from contention. If the ruling stands it would be a blow to the Interpublic shop which has earned an estimated $30 million in revenue a year recently from the contract, which it has held for the last decade.

But McCann isn’t out of the picture yet and may not be. It filed a formal protest to its elimination last month. And on Monday, the Army extended the agency’s current contract for roughly another year as the shop’s protest winds its way through the bureaucratic process.

The Aug. 28 notice stated that “McCann World Group Inc., New York, New York, has been awarded a … modification [for the contract] to extend the performance period for services in support of the Army Marketing and Advertising Program. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 28, 2018.”

The official notice of the extension can be viewed here.

The Government Accounting Office is considering McCann’s appeal and has not yet issued a decision. An attorney involved in the case noted that the GAO is “bound by a 100-calendar-day statutory framework for resolving protests.  The 100th day for the McCann Erickson USA, Inc. protest is September 18, 2017. We will issue a decision no later than that date.”

So at least McCann will service the contract for another year, maybe longer if the GAO rules in its favor on the protest. Then of course it would have to win the broader agency review.