Intel is holding a review for its creative business, Ad Age has learned.
The move comes after Intel hired Steven Fund as its new chief marketing officer in May. Prior to his appointment at Intel, he was senior VP-marketing at Staples. The review is being handled internally by Intel, and the marketer reached out to a small number of agencies, according to people familiar with the matter. Venables Bell & Partners has been handling the creative, and it's believed that the shop is participating in the review. Venables declined to comment. An Intel spokesman said the company regularly reviews agency partners but wouldn't comment beyond that.
Venables was named lead global agency back in 2009. The marketer switched its agency approach for a couple years after that, moving to a jumpball setup. DDB handled some big campaigns during that time, though the shop does not currently work with Intel. Last summer, however, Venables became lead agency again, starting with the launch of Intel's "Look Inside" campaign.
Work for by Venables includes a few films for Intel's global "Look Inside" campaign featuring blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer, 16-year-old medical pioneer Jack Andraka, and more recently, Mick Ebeling, founder of The Ebeling Group and Not Impossible Labs. The latter film tells how, after reading about a boy named Daniel who lost his arms during the civil war in South Sudan, Mr. Ebeling traveled to Africa with 3D printers, Intel 2-in-1s and spools of plastic and established the world's first 3D prosthetic printing lab.
It's not yet clear whether Intel's other agency relationships could be affected by future reviews, but according to one executive, others may be forthcoming. In May 2013, Intel hired Leo Burnett's Arc to handle digital and shopper marketing.
The chip maker spent $85 million on measured media in 2013, according to Kantar Media, up nearly 60% from a year earlier. In the first half of 2014, the company has spent about $44 million on U.S. measured media.
Contributing: Malika Toure
