RKCR/Y&R wins £1.4m passport brief

by James Hamilton, Campaign 03-Nov-06

Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R has landed a £1.4 million Home Office brief to explain the changes to passport regulations.

The agency triumphed in a three-way pitch against Lowe London and
Publicis.

RKCR/Y&R will produce a print, ambient media, radio and point-of-sale
campaign aimed at 17- to 20-year-old first-time applicants.

The ads will break in the new year, and be based on a strategy developed

by the Home Office, COI and Naked Communications, which was appointed to
the account earlier in the year.

From the end of this year, first-time applicants will be required to
take part in a face-to-face interview with a passport officer at one of
69 passport offices in the UK.

In September, new passports were introduced with a digital chip that can
carry biometric data, including precise facial measurements. From 2008,
the chips may include iris scans and fingerprints.

The RKCR/Y&R chief executive, James Murphy, said: "When issues such as
passport fraud are so high on the public agenda, it's very exciting to
get a brief in that area."

Government figures put the total cost of switching from standard to
biometric passports at around £60 million.

The changes to the UK passport rules are part of government measures to
clamp down on identity fraud and respond to fears of terrorism.

According to the Identity and Passport Service, 74 per cent of
fraudulent passport applications are made by first-time applicants.