Green Flag in review of £10m advertising work

by Ed Kemp, Marketing 06-Dec-06

Green Flag, the Royal Bank of Scotland-owned breakdown service, is reviewing its promotional account as it seeks to take market share from rivals including RAC and AA.

Green Flag has approached a number of agencies regarding the brief,
which is estimated to be worth £10m. The pitch is being handled by
Creative Brief.

Advertising for Green Flag is held by MRM Partners, which is repitching

for the business. Media is handled by MediaCom and subsidiary Direct

MediaCom.

A spokesman for Green Flag confirmed the pitch and said the brand was
looking to better differentiate itself by refreshing its
advertising.

The roadside-assistance market was estimated to be worth £1.53bn
in 2006, up 1.9% on last year, according to Mintel. The AA is the market
leader, with an estimated 14.8m members, or 51% of the market, followed
by the RAC with 6.9m and Green Flag with 5m.

Green Flag, which was founded in 1971, recently added a text-messaging
service that enables stranded motorists to receive confirmation that
help is on its way.

In addition to its core motoring-assistance business, the company now
offers ferry booking and vehicle inspection services.

Green Flag invested a significant portion of its promotional budget in
sports sponsorship until recently. It was the first headline sponsor of
the British Formula Three Championships from 2000 to 2002 and sponsored
the British Touring Car Championship from 2001 to 2004. From 1994 to
1998 the company was the first official sponsor of the England football
team.

A spokesman for Green Flag said that sponsorship was not currently part
of the review process, but could not be ruled out.