Bank Of America Names Global Ad Agency In Aim To Revamp Its Reputation

By Rick Rothacker

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 3 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp said on Thursday it has selected a team at WPP Plc as its global advertising agency of record after it put its account up for review in January amid repeated blows to its brand.

The second-largest U.S. bank also said Interpublic Group of Companies' Hill Holliday will take on additional assignments and keep responsibility for marketing the bank's Merrill Lynch wealth management and U.S. Trust units.

Bank of America spends about $2 billion a year on marketing, according to a source familiar with the situation. The decision means two firms, which had already worked for the bank, will have expanded roles in the company's efforts to revamp its reputation and win more customers.

A third firm, Publicis Groupe SA's Starcom USA, will continue to serve as its media planner, buyer and lead digital agency, the bank said.

Bank of America decided to drop Omnicom Group's BBDO, and left a fifth agency, The Richards Group, out of the winners' circle, a source familiar with the situation said.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank last put its account up for review in 2006. The following year it debuted its current "Bank of Opportunity" tagline, which replaced its "Higher Standards" campaign.

Since that review, Bank of America has added the Merrill Lynch brokerage force and has become more global. But it has also seen its brand tarnished by government bailouts, a falling stock price and an ill-fated attempt to implement a $5 per-month debit card fee last fall.

Anne Finucane, the bank's global strategy and marketing executive, who played said an instrumental role in the decision formerly worked for Hill Holliday.

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Comments

[Phil Calabro]

02:40 PM on 05/06/2012

This is a perfect reason why people should be patronizing their local neighborhood banks and credit unions; that is if they are still around. B of A's mea culpa is too late. They along with the other larger banks (there is only one larger then them) are the cause for the mortgage and housing mess that this country is in today. As the upper management of these super banks reap or rather rape millions for themselves; how could they ever identify with the working class people. Again the power of the people lies in their consumer power. If we all refuse to bank with these super banks - maybe then they will identify...
www.progressivesspeakout.blogspot.com

[VerdureVision]

12:07 PM on 05/06/2012

Umm...yeah. Good luck with that, BofA.

[victorlove1]

11:32 AM on 05/06/2012

The first path to redeeming your self is to acknowledge your role in this economic downfall.

Not doing so removes all and any credibility from any other statement(s) designed to mollify us.

[Realist2011]

08:23 AM on 05/06/2012

Just wanting to spiff up their image. They're not interesting in actually changing structurally, which is of course where the changes need to start.

Nope, just he same old crooks with a nice new "shine". They want us to feel better about the fact that they are kept alive with OUR tax dollars.

[JPHR]

05:17 AM on 05/06/2012

Without changing the internal culture this ad campaign will only reinforce that image by contrasting it with the bank behavior.

[oldcliche]

03:06 AM on 05/06/2012

"Guys, how do we make robbery resemble legitimate business?"

------------------------

I think I smell more economic shakedowns.

[Vapula]

04:41 PM on 05/05/2012

B of A won't be able to change its' reputation until it gets rid of its' CEO.

[Easy123]

11:12 AM on 05/05/2012

"Bank Of America Names Global Ad Agency In Aim To Revamp Its Reputation". Good luck with that leeches

[angelwithaura77]

03:47 AM on 05/05/2012

I am disable..& eldery ..I had to get a reverse mortgage on my home..BOA holds it,I got sick & missed two years of flood Insurance..the person paying my bills some how got the home & flood Insurance messed up while I was sick..when I started paying them..I noticed it was a differant Insurance company..I recieved a letter from BOA that they paid my flood Insurance
I called the company I was paying they said its just a mix up ..I was covered..It only cost me $900.00 a year..for flood & ..$1,000.00 a year for home..I thought I was paying both to this other company..they kept telling me I was covered..Now BOA is charging me 0ver $24,000.00..for 2 years of flood Insurance only..BOA said I had to pay them or lose my home..my husband is deceased & I have no one to help me..I get very low SSI a month.
I need help with this ,I don't know what to do..I have nowhere to live..all family is deceased.
Can any one HELP ME.?
THANK YOU.
[e-mail]

[big tom]

08:03 AM on 05/05/2012

call your republican congressman.... they are so sympathetic to the elderly....bank of america is a mafia group... i would not let them handle one penny of my money.... they have bribed congress .. this is only the beginning..

[banker67]

12:49 AM on 05/05/2012

Of course Bank of America can change its image. Don't be silly. Bankers at BOA have made billions through highly questionable acts, and if they take a charge of one paltry billion of corporate earnings to pay for new PR, it's pocket change.

That's 1000 million dollars to spread out among PR agencies, journalists, managing editors, publishers and countless publicists. And there's always outright purchase of the stock of major media outlets. A few billion invested in Time-Warner, Ted Turner and the Murdoch syndicates and you can literally call the editors and tell them what to say, print and broadcast.

When you have a trillion or so (1000 billion dollars) in cash in your local custodial bank, what's $5,000 million spent on media? It's cocaine expenses, lunch money, a bar tab for the executives' 'enjoy young girls night.'

If Bank of America wants the world to sincerely believe that its executives are the offspring of Mother Teresa, they will achieve that goal. No question in my mind that once the billions are tapped, up can be down, black can be white, square can be circular and multinational nest of shameless thieves can be perceived as a choir of seraphim.

Forget it, Jake, it's the United States of America in the New World Order.

[Sarazzara]

03:16 PM on 05/05/2012

Excellent writing, banker, as always.

"...multinational nest of shameless thieves can be perceived as a choir of seraphim."

Heehee.

And a vulture capitalist can be perceived as presidential material.

[banker67]

09:16 PM on 05/05/2012

With a few billion from GOP PACs, Romney could be perceived by a majority of American voters as a cleaner, more orthodontially correct Jesus of Nazareth.

[banker67]

10:24 AM on 05/06/2012

Not to mention someone who publicly declares his belief in a 'religion' that insists the Earth was populated a few million years ago by the spawn of an alien god who lived on a distant planet with scores of blonde breeder-wives.
Nothing bone-crazy there, no sirree, Bob!

[dtallwalk]

11:16 PM on 05/04/2012

Poor BofA they are so miss under stood.
They will never come out and say how many customers they LOST but it was enough to stop all of the charges and sub charges and the sub sub charges they wanted to give us. Now they have to
Do a little PR work to get people to come back too late.
sorry have to say it who's your daddy now BofA

[15yearswiser]

09:59 PM on 05/04/2012

WORST BANK EVER!!! And no matter how they try to change the "IMAGE", they will always be WORST BANK EVER!!!!

[15yearswiser]

09:55 PM on 05/04/2012

You can change your image but you can never change your history.

[mjeffn]

08:20 PM on 05/04/2012

"Hire a PR firm to figure how to hide our doing God's work" - Lord Blankfein

[GoAheadWindMeUp]

07:56 PM on 05/04/2012

Bank of America and BBDO are BOTH corrupt THIEVES, LIARS and CORRUPT! Bank of America has helped put this country in ruin and stolen Americans homes and $ with the ways.
BBDO are lying theives and their MADMEN STEAL honest musicians SONGS for BOA and other ADS. There NEEDs to be a MAJOR INVESTIGATON into BBDO and their practices!
Maybe thats why BOA dumped BBDO!