EBay awards Edelman account

by Aarti Shah, PR Week USA 09-Mar-09, 10:59

SAN JOSE, CA: EBay has selected Edelman to support its marketplace and corporate divisions following a competitive bid. The contract is expected to be seven figures, according to several industry sources.

Jose Mallabo, director of corporate communications at eBay, confirmed the win. He declined to name the agencies that pitched, but had previously noted that most had prior experience with eBay.

The win for Edelman, however, means several agencies that previously handled pieces of eBay's business have lost out. EBay's network of agencies has included Text 100, Hill & Knowlton, and Kaplow.

EBay hired H&K as its corporate agency in 2007 but the agency lost much of this business in January 2008. It had retained eBay's trust and safety program, but Joshua Reynolds, global tech practice director for H&K, said comms work on that division will now be rolled into the corporate brief that Edelman has won.

Scott Friedman, regional director of North America for Text 100, confirmed Text 100's corporate and marketplace business would be transitioned to Edelman, but said the agency would continue working with eBay in other capacities.

Kaplow previously handled eBay's consumer work, but now the agency will work in an "advisory" role, according to Liz Kaplow, president/CEO of Kaplow.