John Ayling and Associates has won the pounds 8 million media
planning and buying account for the mail-order company, Brooks &
Bentley, after a pitch involving the incumbent, CIA Medianetwork, the
Media Business Direct and CKBT.
Brooks & Bentley specialises in jewellery and collectable items, and
advertises largely on full-page colour ads in women’s weekly magazines
and newspaper supplements. The company’s rivals include Franklin
Mint.
John Ayling, the managing director of Aylings, said: ’It’s a massive
area - if you look in the back of any women’s magazine, you’ll see a
Brooks & Bentley ad. The brand names of this type of organisation are
not very well known - the focus is on the product.’
Aylings attributes the win in part to the Respond analysis system, set
up over the past two years by Rob Stephens, a group director. ’It is a
state-of-the-art system,’ Ayling said. ’Our work with it put us ahead of
the competition, as we can give the client real information on
profitability.’
Although Brooks & Bentley is known primarily for its magazine
advertising, Mike Ridgwell, the marketing manager, said: ’We are looking
forward to developing our expansion into new media opportunities.’
John Ayling added: ’The creative may remain as a standard format, but we
will certainly be able to help the client develop new ideas in new
areas.’
Creative work on the account is handled in-house.
