News International reviews £28m agency roster

The embattled newspaper group is said to be keen to make savings as part of a cost-cutting drive instigated by the recently installed chief executive, Tom Mockridge.

NI, which was forced to close News of the World in July last year amid the phone-hacking scandal, is in the

process of deciding whether to throw open the review to agencies outside of its roster.

The £28 million advertising account is split between Engine’s WCRS and CHI & Partners, with the former responsible for The Sun and the latter The Times and The Sunday Times. Mindshare handles NI’s media account.

Barnaby Dawe, the outgoing marketing communications director at NI, said: "We’re not looking to consolidate our agency relationship into either CHI or Engine. With the recent restructure of our marketing department, we’re taking this opportunity to review our relationships with all our agencies on our current roster."

Dawe is leaving the company in March to join the sister News Corporation publisher HarperCollins as its chief marketing officer. NI’s chief marketing officer, Katie Vanneck-Smith, will take over the review process.

In September last year, NI created a new marketing structure split into three teams: brand marketing, acquisition and sales, and customer management.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk