Andrew McCormick, Media Week, 12 February 2008, 10:07am

Vizeum secures £5m TV brief for Discovery Foods

Discovery Foods, the UK-based Mexican food specialist, is set to make its TV ad debut after handing its £5m media account to Aegis agency Vizeum.

Vizeum has snatched the brief from WPP's MediaCom, which held the account for more than six years, after Swedish company Santa Maria bought a 75% stake in Discovery Foods over a year ago.

The win for Vizeum means that Santa Maria's media spend across Europe will be consolidated within the agency.

James Bennett, head of marketing at Discovery Foods, said that the company is set to direct budget towards above-the-line media, having previously relied heavily on direct marketing.

"This year marks a major change for us," said Bennett. "From a media point of view we've been fairly quiet, but this year is a big gear-up year for us and we're looking to spend up to £5m."

Bennett said that 2008 activity will focus on TV and radio and less on press, which it has utilised in the past.

"We're looking at emotive media and our main use will be TV and radio, which can be more engaging than others," he said. "Less than half of the UK population is aware of the Discovery brand, so it's about mass reach at this stage."

MediaCom picked up the Discovery Foods account in January 2002, when the company budgeted £2m a year on media. Bennett said that the appointment of Vizeum wasn't a reflection on the work MediaCom had done for the brand.