WPP Wins Huge Dell Ad Contract

Dell(DELL Quote) is putting all of its advertising and marketing efforts under one roof, in a partnership with WPP Group of the U.K., according to weekend media reports.

Dell and WPP together plan to form a new agency that will exclusively handle the computer maker's ad and marketing activities. Dell will spend $4.5 billion on those activities over three years.

WPP’s winning of the Dell account is a blow for rivals like Interpublic(IPG Quote) and Omnicom(OMC Quote). Interpublic had competed with WPP for months to get the Dell account, The Wall Street Journal noted. Omnicom is among the hundreds of companies currently providing advertising and marketing services for Dell that will lose that business.

A Dell executive said having a dedicated agency to handle all of its business would allow it to focus on Dell's customers rather than on winning the next assignment, according to the AP.

Dell shares ended Friday down $3.60 at $24.54. Interpublic shares closed Friday up 5 cents at $9.49. Omnicom stock ended the session up 44 cents at $48.75.