Shell appoints JWT and Fishburn to 18m brief
Shell International has appointed J Walter Thompson and AMV-owned marketing consultancy Fishburn Hedges to review its global communications strategy with an annual budget of $30m (18m).
JWT’s role is to produce a corporate campaign. The agency already handles Shell’s product advertising in the UK.
Fishburn Hedges’ brief is to review “the way Shell talks to its various stakeholders”, which means its customers, the public and joint-venture partners.
Advertising agencies and communications consultancies carried out joint pitches, but Shell’s appointment breaks up the partnerships.
According to a Shell spokesman, Fishburn Hedges pitched with Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT pitched with Hill & Knowlton, and “Maurice pitched on his own” (Maurice Saatchi of M&C Saatchi). It had been understood that M&C was to pitch with Freud Communications.
M&C’s involvement stems from its appointment at the end of last year to what was then expected to be a global corporate advertising campaign. Despite speculation, M&C only produced what Shell calls a “core purpose” communications campaign, which has been used internally by the oil company.