Starcom defies odds to land £65m BT media
BT has handed its consolidated £65 million media planning and buying account to the Publicis agencies Starcom and Zed Media.
The appointment will surprise many in the industry, as WPP's
Mediaedge:cia was hotly tipped to land the business after it won BT's
media planning account last August.
Starcom retains media buying duties, while adding media planning. Zed
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The pitch, which was called by BT's head of media, Steve Huddleston, in
October, was hotly contested. MEC, backed by the buying clout of Group
M, seemed to gain the early momentum. However, senior figures in the BT
marketing department are said to have been impressed by the Publicis
approach and its ability to match Group M on price.
Starcom's relationship with BT extends almost six years to when it
landed the press buying business. In 2005, it won the TV buying brief
from the now defunct The Allmond Partnership. Zed has worked with BT
since August 2005, when it won the online brief after i-level resigned
the account.
The loss of the planning brief comes just months after MEC hired the
former PHD director and planner Stuart Bowden to run the business. He
had previously worked in-house for BT on its media planning.
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