IPG’s special assignments division won the contract of Nantong Construction, one of the biggest construction companies in the world.
Successfully beating out major companies such as Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, IPG gained one of the worlds most influential and major construction companies as a client. IPG’s success can be attributed to the size of the firm. “Being a medium sized firm, we can give special attention to each client, making us faster, more receptive, nimble, and dedicated than high tier firms. Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are like ocean liners, they take a lot of time and people to change direction; IPG is like a speedboat, we can move around quickly and get things done fast.” Says George Donohue, President of IPG Real Estate
Donohue attributes part of his success to being sensitive to cultural differences. “As the head of real estate at the World Trade Centre, I became receptive to all cultures which has ultimately lead me to be a more well rounded person who is sensitive to the needs of my clients.”
The task at hand was to find the greatest architecture firm in America for Nantong to build their U.S. office. Knowing that Nantong Construction would not settle for less than the best, IPG interviewed 603 firms across America. Picking the top two finalists, IPG flew them to china to meet with Nantong letting them pick the winner of the prestige contract.
Handling the process from RSP request to the proposal, IPG then negotiated the contracts between the selected architect and Nantong, showing versatility and commitment.
Written by: Lindsay Craven