Grey beats Leo Burnett to £60m Oracle account

Grey Advertising has won the &£60m global advertising and media account for software giant Oracle after pitching against Leo Burnett.

The US software giant’s account, which covers 45 countries, will be run out of Grey’s New York and San Francisco offices.

In Grey’s London office, the account will be under the direction of group managing director Steve Richards. The agency will play a major role in the company’s plans to launch an international campaign.

Oracle has previously worked with Think New Ideas, Los Angeles, and DDB Worldwide, London, neither of which were invited to repitch for the account. Bozell Worldwide, San Mateo, California, and Young & Rubicam, San Francisco also pitched, but were eliminated at an early stage.

As part of the pitch, Grey flagged up Oracle’s position as leading supplier of software for information management. Grey London chief executive Steve Blamer says: “Grey London played a crucial role in the pitch. It is clear that Oracle wants to build its brand globally.”

With annual revenues of more than $8.8bn (&£5.8bn), Oracle is the world’s second-largest software company, after Microsoft. It offers leading Internet database and application products, and consulting services in more than 145 countries.