Channel 5 is shunning the traditional agency route for its launch next
March in favour of a ‘dream team’ of talent assembled from a variety of
sources.
This looks set to include a two-man Dutch creative team - Erik Kessels
and Johan Kramer - who are tipped to work creatively on the account,
which will be backed by an above-the-line spend of around pounds 5
million next year.
C5’s marketing director, David Brook, declined to comment on Kessels and
Kramer’s appointment. How- ever, it is understood that WCRS, BDDH,
Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe and Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury have been
told they are not in line for the business, leaving only Maher Bird
Associates from the original pitch-list under consideration.
It is unclear whether Maher Bird will have a role to play, but sources
indicated that Brook’s preferred creative option is the Kessels and
Kramer team.
Kessels and Kramer would work alongside the other professionals in the
core launch team. So far, these include Wolff Olins, which is to control
all aspects of design; TMD Carat for media buying; and Michaelides and
Bednash, to help with media and communications strategy as well as
programming.
The station’s on-screen look will be the province of a newly hired
specialist from the US. New PHD is also working with C5, although its
precise role has not been clarified.
Brook has long been a fan of picking talent selectively from different
companies, rather than using traditional full-service agencies. He is
said to consider full-service agencies less flexible and cost-effective
than a bespoke dream team.
Kessels and Kramer have agency experience at GGT and Chiat Day in
London, but began to devote more time to their own Amsterdam-based
company, KesselsKramer, last year. While in London, they created
commercials for Capital FM and Ariston as well as idents for the
children’s channel, Nickelodeon.
C5 has confirmed that it is on-target for its Easter launch date, with
3.4 million homes retuned as of 29 November, according to official
figures issued with the full agreement of the Independent Television
Commission.
