Camelot has fired the starting gun on a full review of its pounds
20 million media buying account, and is lining up five media agencies to
pitch for the business.
Camelot has been expected to put its media buying out to pitch for some
time, with speculation of a full review mounting last week (Campaign, 9
October). Poster buying, through Portland, will not be affected by the
media buying review.
The implementational planning and buying account is now handled by
Zenith Media. Zenith won the business alongside its sister creative
agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, in 1994 when Camelot launched the National
Lottery.
Zenith Media will repitch for the account alongside Universal McCann,
BMP Optimum, MediaVest and Walker Media. Walker Media’s founding
partner, Christine Walker, worked on Camelot when she was chief
executive of Zenith.
The decision to review media buying follows Camelot’s formal appointment
last week of Mediapolis as the company’s strategic media agency of
record.
Mediapolis, a sister company to Camelot’s new creative agency, WCRS, had
originally been handed the business on a three-month tenure but will now
be a long-term strategic partner for the lottery company.
Mediapolis will now work alongside the new media buying company on media
strategy.
The media review follows a rethink of Camelot’s creative and media
strategy earlier this year, with the buying task the last to come under
the spotlight.
The overhaul was sparked by the appointment of Ian Milligan as marketing
director in January.
Milligan confirmed the review. ’Zenith has done a good job and will be a
tough act to beat but now we need a great job. We need to ensure we are
absolutely on the top of our game,’ he said.
