NEWS: Media win kicks off Labatt review

Labatt Brewing is to review its UK creative account after moving its

pounds 4 million media business out of its full-service agency, Abbott

Mead Vickers BBDO, and into CIA Medianetwork this week.

Labatt is overhauling its UK creative task and preparing to talk to a

number of creative agencies about the account.

At the same time, the Canadian brewer is understood to have given AMV

the ‘green light’ to court other brewing business.

AMV has been working with Labatt since it won the task to launch the

company in the UK in 1987. However, earlier this year Labatt decided

that two of its brands - Rolling Rock and Labatt’s Ice - needed a

different advertising approach and set about reducing AMV’s role on

these accounts.

AMV retained the creative account for Labatt’s Canadian and Labatt’s

Blue.

Since March, AMV has been tailoring Canadian-sourced creative work for

Ice and Rolling Rock to the UK market.

Now Labatt is preparing to cut its ties with the agency altogether. The

first sign of this was its decision to review its media account.

An industry source said: ‘It’s pointless for Labatt to retain an agency

of AMV’s stature if it’s only adapting Canadian work. If Labatt has to

part company with the agency, it now has a media independent in place.’

CIA Medianetwork scoop-ed the media planning and buying task without a

competitive pitch. It will now begin work on the centralised media

account, which includes the Ice, Blue, Canadian, Rolling Rock and Birra

Moretti brands.

Labatt UK’s marketing director, David Radford, said: ‘AMV was

instrumental in the successful launch of Labatt’s in the UK. It will be

a hard act to follow. It’s a sign of CIA’s innovative planning that we

are confident that this is a sound move.’

Labatt was acquired by the Belgian brewing giant, Interbrew, earlier

this year.

AMV’s managing director, Andrew Robertson, was not available to comment

on the shake-up.