The pharmaceutical company is demanding that agencies have experience of working on ethical prescription drugs. That's a sure-fire way to cut down your agency options.
After a couple of months of agencies wondering whether the global Emirates pitch would move to the second round, the successful agencies have now been briefed, with pitches due next month.
And there's a final shortlist for Vestas, the Danish wind power solutions brand - Naked and Saatchi & Saatchi. Euro RSCG and Y&R Brands have been eliminated from the contest for the estimated £60 million global creative business.
After months of globetrotting, it looks like there's going to be a result on the UPS global pitch that's being run through the AAR. All the hard work will pay off for one of the four shortlisted groups: Euro RSCG with MPG; JWT and Mindshare; Ogilvy with Maxus; and Young & Rubicam, also pitching with Mindshare.
In media, EDF Energy finally saw pitches from agencies this week after a lengthy pre-pitch process. Representatives from EDF in France and the UK were present to see pitches from Mindshare, PHD, ZenithOptimedia and the UK incumbent, MPG. Agency sources say that the number of clients and pitch consultants present was "overwhelming".
The Post Office DM pitch is moving on even though agencies have yet to meet the client face to face. The longlist of 12 is to be cut to five, which will attend chemistry meetings. After that, three will go through to presentations.
