Mediastar has triumphed in the media pitch for Scottish Widows, seeing
off three other agencies to take the pounds 6 million planning and
buying business.
Mediastar pitched against the incumbents, Dewe Rogerson and WWAV Rapp
Collins, and TMD Carat for the centralised media business (Campaign, 1
December). Pitches were held last week and Mediastar’s appointment was
confirmed this Wednesday.
Bob Offen, managing director of Mediastar, said the agency had spent a
long time working towards a full understanding of the Scottish Widows
business and its communications requirements.
‘Our prices were competitive, and we obviously did a good pitch,’ Offen
said.
The media review was sparked when Scottish Widows decided it wanted
better value for money from its advertising budgets. The media account
was previously split several ways, with the Scottish Widows marketing
department also handling some media buying in-house.
David Graham, head of marketing for Scottish Widows, said the company
had been considering its overall media operation for some time. ‘The
appointment of Mediastar is a major step towards developing a focused
media strategy that will give us greater value for money and a more
competitive edge to our media placement,’ he explained.
Scottish Widows is one of Dewe Rogerson’s flagship accounts. It has
handled the business on a full-service basis for several years and,
although Graham insists there are no plans to move the creative account,
the media loss will come as a blow to the agency.
