At last, Dell moves ads to WPP

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is set to trust most of its advertising and marketing to WPP, the big ad agency conglomerate based in the UK. The move is a blow to Interpublic (NYSE: IPG), which had been working to get the account.

The relationship between the PC company and ad agency will be set up as a partnership. The Wall Street Journal writes, "Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, said it would take WPP and Dell roughly three to six months to build the new firm, which will start with about 1,000 employees. Dell management around the world will have to give up local ad ties."

But, the manner in which the deal was cut says a lot about what is wrong with Dell. Picking the new agency took almost three quarters. And it will take almost another quarter to set it up. That means that the PC company's marketing plans will have been in flux for almost a year. With all of Dell's problems, the company can hardly afford to spread significant decisions over such a long period.

It is good that Dell has finally made a decision, but it is very bad that it does not have processes in place to speed getting to the finish line on such critical problems.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com