HOW MCCANN KEPT THE U.S. ARMY ACCOUNT: Understanding client's mission, global reach and value helped agency hold on to $200 million-a-year account

Last Thursday night, McCann executives gathered at the Hyatt hotel in midtown Manhattan to toast the news they'd gotten just hours before. After a stressful seven-month pitch, the Interpublic Group of Cos.' agency was able to hold onto the $200 million-per-year U.S. Army account it took on in December 2005.

The decision--which came nearly one year to the day that Nick Brien took over as CEO of McCann Worldgroup--accomplished one of the biggest priorities for the agency, which is focused on emerging from a period of instability in recent years by making changes to talent, training employees and stemming client losses.

So what does the U.S. Army view as the most-important attributes in an ad partner? Three things: understanding the mission of the main brand of the nation's armed forces, global reach and value.

"McCann Worldgroup had the best proposal that delivered the best value to the department of the Army," Joanne Edwards, contracting officer with the Mission and Installation Contracting...