- Andrew McMains, Adweek

Volkswagen of America has selected Draftfcb to handle direct marketing duties on the brand after a review, the carmaker has confirmed.

Sources previously identified the other finalists as WPP Group's G2 in New York and independent Harte-Hanks Direct in Yardley, Pa. Account revenue is estimated at more than $3 million.

The Chicago office of Draftfcb will handle the business, which previously was divided between MDC Partners' Crispin, Porter + Bogusky and Havas' Euro RSCG, according to VW.

During the pitch process, Draftfcb executives "demonstrated not only their ability to deliver solid strategic and data-driven thinking, but also strong creative ideas, like the ones consumers have come to expect from Volkswagen," said Tim Ellis, vice president of marketing at VW in Herndon, Va.

In a statement, Draftfcb North American president Mark Modesto said the agency was "honored to have been chosen to work with such a talented team on such an iconic brand."

The review followed an earlier search for lead creative shop that resulted in the hiring of Interpublic Group's Deutsch/LA in Marina del Rey, Calif. The other finalists in that search were Omnicom Group units DDB in New York and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco and independent Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore.

Roth Associates in New York helped manage the lead creative agency search.

Media duties remain at WPP's MediaCom in New York.