• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, May 23, 2007

The Lowe's Companies, the second-largest U.S. home improvement chain, has selected Omnicom's Tribal DDB Worldwide as its digital agency of record. Lowe's had previously worked on a project basis with Interpublic's R/GA.

The deal is a coup for Omnicom, which will now handle all of the retailer's $460 million media spend. BBDO presently handles all traditional creative work for Lowe's, while OMD handles its media planning and buying.

Omnicom's Chicago office will develop and implement all e-marketing initiatives, according to the company, while Tribal DDB will also be responsible for developing a broader digital strategy for Lowe's, including mobile, viral and multichannel initiatives.

"The focus for Lowe's is all on the consumer," explained John Conmy, director of client services for Tribal DDB. "Whether general banners, CRM projects, or general direct response campaigns, we want to speak directly with the customer."

Tribal DDB won out in a review against three other Omnicom agencies--Organic, Atmosphere BBDO and EVB--a person with knowledge of the review told OnlineMediaDaily, adding that aQuantive's Avenue A|Razorfish was also a finalist and Publicis Groupe's Modem Media dropped out early on.

Lowe's, No. 2 behind Home Depot, reported a lower-than-expected first-quarter profit on Tuesday, which it attributed to a weaker housing market.