Euro wins £25m Cap Gemini brief

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has appointed Euro RSCG Worldwide to handle its £25m global advertising account.

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has appointed Euro RSCG Worldwide to handle its £25m global advertising account.

The IT services group called a review of its business last month (MW March 13) and shortlisted Euro RSCG to pitch against Grey Worldwide, McCann-Erickson and TBWA Worldwide. The final pitch was between Euro RSCG and McCann-Erickson.

The review was run out of Cap Gemini’s Paris headquarters and managed by French consultants Vidéothèque. The account will be overseen by Euro RSCG’s New York office, but the work will be distributed across its regional offices.

Cap Gemini’s advertising was previously handled by Strawberry Frog. The Amsterdam-based agency was appointed 12 months ago, after an 18 month-long review. Last summer, the agency created an advertising campaign called “Defy the economy”, which featured TV, press, poster and e-mail advertising. Before Strawberry Frog, D’Arcy Masius Benton Bowles held the global advertising business.

In February, Cap Gemini reported a loss of e514m (£352m) for 2002, compared to a profit of e152m (£104m) the previous year. Revenue was also down by 16 per cent to e7.05bn (£4.8bn). The company attributed its poor performance to a loss of focus after it acquired Ernst & Young Consulting in 2000.