DRUG TRADING CHOOSES TWO
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based Drug Trading Co. handed its account last week to two agencies: Bozell Worldwide of Toronto and Thomas Crnich & Partners of London, Ont. The other short listed agency was O'Rourke Communications Inc. of Toronto. Bozell will be the lead agency, handling strategic planning, creative and media buying. Thomas Crnich will handle direct response advertising, database marketing and loyalty programs. Two agencies were chosen because "we thought we could get the best of both worlds," advertising, marketing and communications director Peter Kruusi told Adnews yesterday. Bozell was given the business because it was "willing to dedicate its key resources to the business immediately," but its database and direct marketing business are generally outsourced. Thomas Crnich was strong in these areas, Kruusi said. The incumbent on the Drug Trading business was Johnson, Wiltshire, McDermott of Toronto. The agency had the business until the summer of 1996 when the company decided to put the account up for grabs. Drug Trading was the agency's biggest client. As a result of the review, Johnson, Wiltshire shut its doors in July, 1996. Agency co-owner John Wiltshire told Adnews at the time that the owners decided to close the agency because they didn't have a good feeling about the review and didn't want to get other people involved in trying to keep the agency afloat. Drug Trading Co. operates three pharmacy chains: I.D.A., Guardian Drugs and Rx Central.