Vodafone leaves STW off shortlist

The favourites - Clemenger BBDO, BMF Advertising and Whybin TBWA - are. After weeks of denial by the listed marketing services company STW that anything was amiss, the bespoke agency it had set up to service the account, One Barrack Street, has been ped.

It comes a day after Vodafone's main rival in the mobile phone market, Telstra, reshuffled the line-up of advertising agencies that work on its $130 million account.

The musical chairs saw George Patterson Y&R's role downgraded, leaving the agency, which until Thursday counted Telstra as the Sydney office's largest client, with a relatively minor role analysing data on Telstra customers and sending mailouts to them. Its rivals Singleton Ogilvy & Mather and BWM carved up the business between them.

In a fortnight the trio shortlisted by Vodafone are required to "immerse" themselves in all-day workshops to get a better understanding of the mobile phone company's strategic thinking, the company said in a statement.

But even though STW was not shortlisted, Vodafone's senior marketers could not quite bring themselves to deliver the coup de grace. In a statement Craig Herbison, Vodafone's general manager brand and communications, said that STW continued to do some "great work" and that it was "possible" that some elements might remain with the agency.

One rival ad agency executive speculated that STW might find itself in a similar position to that which Patts has with Telstra. "But the fact that their global marketing chief [David Wheldon] is coming out here next week suggests to me that they are just going to fire them [STW]," the executive said.

Vodafone will make a decision in September, but Clemenger is widely tipped to win the business.