Arun Sudhaman 19 Apr 2011 // 11:00PM GMT
SUNNYVALE, CA--Edelman has won chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) North America PR business, estimated at upwards of $5 million.
The Holmes Report has learned that AMD, which is currently undergoing a significant leadership shakeup, selected the agency following a final round shootout against a combined Next Fifteen team.
The account was previously handled by Next Fifteen’s Bite Communications, which put forward a group effort led by sister agency Text 100 to defend the business. The Holmes Report revealed the pitch last month, after AMD parted ways with CEO Dirk Meyer amid a continued executive reshuffle.
It is understood that a number of firms took part in the first stage of the pitch, before AMD settled on Next Fifteen and Edelman to contest the final round. The review covered all aspects of AMD’s PR, including corporate and product PR programs, as well as industry analyst relations support and digital/social media.
Bite consolidated AMD’s product PR in North America in early 2008 after beginning work on the business in 2005, adding corporate duties approximately one year later.
Edelman already handles AMD’s PR in Asia-Pacific, after winning the business last year. Bite will continue to work with AMD in Europe, alongside Text 100.
"It’s a time of transition for the company, and that’s often time to review our capabilities to ensure we are world-class on all fronts," said AMD spokesman Drew Prairie.
"Moving forward, we believe the team at Edelman has the right combination of talent and culture to be the right partner for us."
Meyer’s surprise resignation saw the company publicly state that it is searching for a new CEO who can “accelerate” growth. The former CEO has been credited with successfully stabilizing AMD, but some observers – including analyst firm Think Equity – believe that the company is an attractive acquisition target for other tech players such as Broadcom, Oracle and Dell.
While AMD’s market share in the desktop sector remains solid, it has struggled in the faster-growing server, notebook and tablet/smartphone sectors against traditional rival Intel and UK competitor ARM.