MARKETPLACE ROUND-UP

     The Grizzlies ad account is in play following the expiration
of a six-month contract with Vancouver's Vrlak & Company.  The
Grizzlies' parent company, Northwest Entertainment Group, wants
two different agencies to handle the NBA team and the Canucks.
Given the choice, Vrlak picked the Canucks.  Vrlak also remains
the agency for GM Place (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 2/27 issue)....While
recent reports have noted the effect animal-rights groups were
having on sponsorships, Beth Bragg of MCCLATCHY NEWS reports that
with the help of small local sponsorships, the Iditarod is only
$165,000 shy of making up for the loss of the big-time sponsors
like Timberland, Chrysler and ABC (McCLATCHY NEWS,
3/3)....Atlanta's advertising agencies in '94 topped the $2B mark
in billings for the first time, making it the U.S.'s No. 9
advertising center.  The Top 8:  New York, Chicago, L.A.,
Detroit, San Francisco, Dallas, Minneapolis and Boston.  Several
big Atlanta companies now use local agencies:  BellSouth, Delta,
Wachovia, Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, TBS and Holiday Inn
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/4).