The music, DVD and games retailer invited six agencies to take part in the pitch, which was overseen by marketing director John Taylor and head of marketing, promotions and e-commerce & CRM, Ged Hopkins.
HMV shortlisted BDS and one other undisclosed agency for the final presentations, which were made late last week and were also attended by HMV Europe managing director, Steve Knott.
During the review HMV head of marketing Laurie Webster quit the firm after just seven months in the job. Webster, the former marketing chief at wine chain Oddbins, joined HMV in August to take its second-most senior marketing role, reporting to Taylor.
"Reviews can clearly play an essential role in any client/agency relationship. Not only do they give you an opportunity to have a really close look at who else is out there, they also allow you to evaluate if your objectives are being met and to reassess your creative requirements going forward," Taylor said.
Following the decision to reappoint BDS, Taylor added that the review was a thorough and genuine one. "I am pleased that BDS have shown that they continue to be right agency for HMV, and we look forward to working with them in a reinvigorated relationship," he said.
The reappointment of BDS will see senior staff at the agency become more closely involved with the account. BDS managing director, John Wood, will now take up the role of planning director on the business and BDS chairman Philip Beechwood will oversee the account.
"We demonstrated an excellent understanding of the market and real consumer insight. This was translated in to a campaign which went way beyond above-the-line advertising and touched all aspects of HMV's marketing communication mix," said Wood.
The media planning and buying business, held by OMD UK, is unaffected by the review.
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