eBay announced that it has selected BBDO to be its marketing agency of record in the United States. BBDO will provide integrated leadership across all parts of eBay's marketing operations, including Internet marketing, direct marketing, and print and television advertising.

"We're extremely excited to have BBDO on board," said Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America. "eBay's marketing needs have been expanding as the company has grown. To generate the integrated marketing efforts we undertake today, we needed an agency that could deliver creative excellence across our marketing mix. BBDO is the best agency in the business."

In 2004 eBay spent $455 million on global online and offline marketing programs. Of that amount, approximately $250 million was spent in U.S. marketing initiatives.

During the first several years of its history, the eBay brand was built by a combination of word of mouth by its dedicated community of users and Internet marketing initiatives. By 2001 the company was experimenting with targeted print advertising, focused on attracting buyers to its thousands of categories. In late 2002, with the Internet heavily penetrated across all categories of consumers, eBay launched its first national television advertising campaign under the banner "Do it eBay." During the 2004 holiday season, eBay launched a second national TV campaign called "The Power of All of Us."

"eBay is a marketing person's dream," said Jeff Mordos, Chief Operating Officer of BBDO New York. "It's a phenomenal brand that's a huge part of the popular culture. We're honored that eBay has selected us as a partner and look forward to helping them build their business."

eBay's prior agency of record was the San Francisco-based boutique agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

http://www.ebay.com