New Multimedia Creative Ideas Will Drive Brand Voice

NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliant Energy today announced that it has selected Grey Group to create a comprehensive new branding initiative and advertising campaign across a wide range of multimedia channels. The goal of the campaign will be to enhance the brand value of Reliant as it seeks to advance its position as one of the leading providers in the increasingly competitive Texas electricity market.

The assignment follows a creative review that included four major agencies in addition to Grey West, San Francisco, in collaboration with Grey New York. It was the second major victory in less than six months for Grey West, which led the win of BMW of North America for the agency in November after a competitive review.

Reliant Energy, one of the leading competitive retail electric energy companies in Texas, was acquired on May 1 by NRG Energy, the second largest energy producer in the state. The alliance promises improved service, lower environmental impact and lower electric prices for Reliant Energy customers.

"We were very impressed with the team from Grey," said Manny Rodriguez, Vice President of Brand and Marketing Communications for Reliant Energy. They understand our brand and we feel their team dynamic aligns well with ours. We're looking forward to working closely with them, as we take Reliant Energy to the next level."

Jim Heekin, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group, said, "We are very proud of our partnership with Reliant at this exciting time in its history and excited by their vote of confidence in selecting us over several other great agencies. We look forward to helping drive the growth of this outstanding energy brand in Texas, the heart of America's energy industry, in the years ahead."

Brad Fogel, Managing Director of Grey West based in San Francisco, said, "We're very excited about the opportunity to work with Reliant Energy. As competition intensifies, we look forward to helping Reliant build on their leadership position in the Texas electricity market. We're honored that they chose us to be their partner."

About Reliant Energy

Reliant Energy provides electricity and energy services to more than 1.7 million retail customers -- including homes, small and large businesses, manufacturing facilities, government entities and institutions across Texas. As part of NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), Reliant Energy is backed by one of the nation's largest power producers. NRG owns and operates more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity, including more than 11,000 megawatts of capacity in Texas. For more information about Reliant Energy products and services, visit www.reliant.com.

About Grey

Grey is the advertising network of Grey Group, headquartered in New York, which ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (Nasdaq: WPPGY). Grey Group's total offering includes G2, activation marketing; healthcare communications; media planning and buying and public relations. Grey's blue-chip client roster includes many of the world's best known companies: Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Darden Restaurants, Wyeth, Canon, 3M, Eli Lilly and E*Trade (www.grey.com) Grey West comprises Grey San Francisco and Grey Los Angeles. Its largest client is BMW of North America.

    Reliant Contact:
    Pat Hammond, 713 497 7723
    phammond@reliant.com
    Grey Contact:
    Chris Brown
    212 546 2231
    cbrown@grey.com

SOURCE Grey