In the running were Leo Burnett, TBWA/Tequila, JimenezBasic, Gallardo & Associates, J.Romero and Aspac, the incumbent.
Paolo Mercado, Publicis' managing director, said the pitch was the biggest in the first quarter of the year, "not so much in terms of the size of the budget, but more in terms of who was invited".
After two rounds of presentations, the client tapped Publicis as the lead agency and retained Aspac to handle several products. Publicis also handles PS Bank, a Metro-bank subsidiary. Mercado said Publicis clinched the business on the strength of its strategy. "We analysed Metrobank's brand image using Brainjuicer, Europe's largest and most innovative online research tool," he explained.
Mercado said Publicis also used shopper marketing expertise to define communication zones: "We applied this to a Metrobank branch and I believe that really helped the client see how holistic our thinking was." In addition, Publicis has a personal tie to the bank: "We are clients of the branch in front of our office," Mercado said.
