Grey on alert as Nokia calls ad review

by Noel Bussey, Campaign 26-Jan-07

Nokia's UK advertising agencies have been put on alert as the handset manufacturer reviews its £175 million global advertising business.

Its main roster agency Grey has been asked to repitch for the business,
and it is thought that a number of other network agencies have also been
approached.

The review is part of a global re-evaluation of its brand and strategy

that will see Nokia put emotional engagement at the heart of its brand

communications. In June last year, Campaign reported that the Finnish
company was in the early stages of talks with agencies as it instigated
a benchmarking exercise.

The re-evaluation has also recently sparked activity on the handset
manufacturer's business. Last week, it was revealed that the company is
reviewing its global below-the-line marketing account in support of its
new brand positioning. It has already approached a number of UK DM
agencies with a tender to handle its pan-European point-of-sale
business.

It also emerged last week that Wieden & Kennedy London secured a place
on the company's global roster, when it picked up a brief promoting the
global roll-out of its concept stores. It won the business in a
shoot-out against Grey.

This was preceded in November last year by the Engine Group being
awarded a global advertising brief to create a business-to-business
corporate campaign for Nokia Siemens Networks - a joint venture between
the two brands.

The WPP-owned Grey handles the lion's share of the Nokia business, which
is worth around £14 million in the UK, and works across three of
Nokia's four divisions. These are: mobile phones, enterprise solutions
and networks.

Lowe was appointed to the roster in January 2005 by the mobile phone
manufacturer's multimedia division to create advertising and other
communications for Nokia's launch of its Nseries products.