Seventy Seven PR, the incumbent of almost two years as eBay’s retained agency, told PRWeek this Wednesday that it had declined to repitch for the business.
Seventy Seven declined to elaborate, but stated its commitment to the core eBay account. Around four agencies are believed to have made the shortlist.
The review follows the arrival of Cristina de Parres as PayPal’s first UK head of PR. She joined from Visa Europe, where she was head of consumer and retail PR, around eight weeks ago.
Earlier this year, eBay tendered the account for its classified site Gumtree, also previously held by Seventy Seven. After a three-way pitch the business was bagged by Cow PR (PRWeek, 3 March).
EBay UK head of PR Victoria Biggs told PRWeek that Seventy Seven’s core account was secure and no review was planned.