Cisco Systems, the world's largest internet network provider, has
handed its £3.5 million customer relationship management task to
Agency Republic.
The agency won the business after a four-way pitch. The on- and offline
CRM drive kicks off in the UK and will then be developed in other
countries in Europe, the Middle East and north Africa.
In a move that echoes the sentiment of the European Parliament's recent
recommended directive to place stricter controls on the use and transfer
of online data, the campaign will be designed to champion "permission
marketing", a commitment to send only relevant communications to
customers.
The agency will be aiming to build on Cisco's qualified e-mail database
with the basic thrust of the creative work outlining that the permission
marketing puts the customer in charge of the company.
Agency Republic's managing director, Martin Brooks, said: "Cisco pretty
much built the internet. Now it is demonstrating industry leadership
again by reducing e-junk and focusing on marketing messages with
targeted value."
The Omnicom-backed agency aims to offer traditional and digital
marketing communications.