Three agencies battle it out for £250k AMD pitch

Clare O'Connor and David Quainton 01-May-08

Microprocessor giant AMD has put its £250,000 EMEA brief out to pitch, potentially ending its retainer relationship with Waggener Edstrom.

According to a source close to AMD, the pitch took place last week, with Ketchum competing against a combined Next Fifteen team of Bite and Text 100.

Incumbent Waggener Edstrom is not thought to have repitched. A decision is imminent.

AMD, a semiconductor manufacturer and the number two in its market after Intel, was one of Waggener Edstrom's flagship tech clients alongside Microsoft.

The pitch comes as no surprise to tech insiders, as both Bite and Ketchum work with AMD in the US, providing support for its product PR and corporate PR respectively.

'It makes sense for both brands to be chasing its EMEA work,' said one agency MD. 'The EMEA work has more of a product PR leaning.'

He added: 'Bite and Text100 jointly bidding for a PR contract is something of a first, as they are big competitors with very different cultures. Text100 has a strong European network and Bite has the experience of working with AMD in the US.'

The California-headquartered AMD turned over more than £3bn in 2007 and has a worldwide workforce of more than 16,000.

The firm this week launched its new 'business class' chips to PC vendors, aiming to target small and medium-enterprise customers - a market that is traditionally monopolised by rival Intel.

The agencies involved declined to comment on the pitch. AMD confirmed the review was taking place but did not comment further.

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