eBay's Interactive Work In Flux

Online auction site eBay yanked its agency of record designation from Goodby Silverstein & Partners and handed the assignment, which includes interactive work, to Omnicom’s BBDO New York. The company spent $250 million on marketing in the U.S. in 2004.

“They’ve [Goodby] done a great job, but we got to a point where we needed an agency that could handle all of our marketing,” said Henry Gomez, an eBay spokesperson. “At the end of the day, Goodby is a boutique in San Francisco, and we got to the point where we need a bit more creative firepower and a bit more executional firepower.”

BBDO will handle Internet and direct marketing, along with print and television advertising.

How interactive duties will be split remains to be seen. eBay’s interactive efforts were previously handled by Agency.com, which inherited the account when it acquired Exile on Seventh last year. BBDO has its own interactive unit, Atmosphere, but Agency.com is its corporate sibling under Omnicom.

“The impact on our other partners is, as of right now, unclear,” said Gomez. “BBDO will certainly be playing a leadership role.”

A spokesperson for Agency.com confirmed the agencies were in discussions about the account’s future. “We’re definitely not out,” she said.

Goodby has served as eBay’s agency of record for the past six years, most of the auction company’s history. After beginning in 2001 with targeted print advertising, the firm has overseen two major national TV campaigns. In 2002, Goodby launched an effort with the tagline “Do it eBay,” following up in 2004 with another called, “The Power of All of Us.”