Chigago advertising agency receives $4bn US Army contract

Chicago advertising agency DDB announced this week it had been selected to handle the US Army advertising account. The contract is for "a full array of advertising and marketing services for a 5-year base period and two successive option periods of, respectively, 3 years and 2 years, for a total possible period of performance of 10 years," according to a Government Accountability Office. The Chicago Business Journal reports the deal has been valued at US$4bn over the possible 10 year period.

Chicago DDB has been selected as the lead agency in the deal, which has been officially awarded to the company’s parent, Omnicom Group Global Agency. Eight other companies belonging to Omnicom are expected to be involved in the deal, but DDB Chicago “will have the distinction of being the lead agency on the business.”

SEE ALSO: 

• Disney announces fresh structure ahead of 21st Century Fox acquisition
• The five most innovative cities in the US
• The top five blockchain startups set to disrupt the US economy
• Click here to read the latest issue of Business Chief North America

According to the Chicago Business Journal, “The group of Omnicom agencies working on the Army account will tentatively be called Team DDB.”

DDB Chicago also led Omnicom Global’s efforts to secure the account, a “complicated and protracted process that spanned two years”. According to the Department of Defence press release, DDB outbid four other contractors to receive the account, including incumbent McCann Worldgroup. According to AdAge, McCann Worldgroup “has said it is taking the matter of its dismissal from the review to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.”