Unicef appoints WWAV to lead £5m account

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 16-Nov-05, 07:00

LONDON – Unicef UK has picked WWAV Rapp Collins as its lead direct marketing agency, and has also chosen Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw to handle project work.

WWAV is to work on recruiting new donors and developing existing donors, as well as helping Unicef with its "Unite for Children -- Unite against Aids" campaign. Unicef did not supply details of the projects it has earmarked for Kitcatt Nohr.

The two agencies were left in the pitch after Watson Phillips Norman and Clark McKay & Walpole had been eliminated from the four-strong shortlist.

The incumbent Tequila\London, which inherited the account from its merger with TBWA\GGT, had declined to pitch. The statutory review was managed by Allan Freeman, a freelance consultant and former managing director of WWAV Rapp Collins West.

WWAV and Kitcatt Nohr already both work for charity clients NSPCC and Cancer Research UK, which appointed the latter in October to a project developing mid-value donations.

Unicef UK is one of 37 national committees that make up the United Nations Children's Fund. It spends £5m annually on its direct marketing, which generates half of its income.

Vicky Seale, head of direct marketing at Unicef UK, said: "We are delighted to be working with WWAV to raise vital funds for children worldwide. This relationship will be crucial to achieving our income over the next five years."

Separately, Unicef headquarters is still to appoint an agency to handle a global below-the-line campaign to help raise money for children affected by Aids, after launching the review in March.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum.