Arena BLM marks Westfield win with press team launch

by Andrew McCormick, Media Week 26-Feb-08, 09:55

LONDON - Arena BLM, the media agency bought by Havas last month, has set up its first stand-alone press department, after winning the £3m media account for London shopping centre Westfield.

Press planning and buying has previously been handled across account teams, but Jo Blake, head of press at Arena BLM, will head a new stand-alone department after conducting a six-month review of the agency’s press functions.

Blake has promoted Gabrielle Rossetti, who joined Arena BLM from Starcom last November, from senior press planner/buyer to press manager.

Blake said: “As we pitch for more business we will build a bigger team focusing on how we interact with media owners. Westfield is a customer where press is going to be key for us – it will be very engaging.”

Westfield plans to channel much of its media spend into newspapers and magazines after Arena BLM beat Universal McCann to the account earlier this month.

Blake said the department will also aim to produce opportunities for existing Arena BLM clients to increase promotions in newspapers and magazines.

“It’s also about pushing clients who haven’t spent much on press in the past,” she said. “One of our aims is to drive value that our clients are getting through their press buying.”

The focus of a single BLM press department will enable the agency to concentrate more on multi-platform media buys, according to Blake.