Pitch update

The global HSBC pitch continues to roll along after BBDO’s exit last month. The competing networks are Grey, Saatchi & Saatchi and the incumbent, JWT. Meetings will take place in markets around the world, with the final round of face-to-face sessions scheduled for early March.

The Co-operative Group’s £3 million direct marketing review has been narrowed down to four agencies after chemistry meetings. Shortlisted shops include Elvis, OgilvyOne and Rapp. The review is being handled by AAR and pitches are expected to take place at the end of February.

Npower’s long-running pitch process, also handled by AAR, kicked off in earnest this week with a series of chemistry meetings.

Other ongoing reviews through the same intermediary include John Lewis Partnership’s CRM accounts. Agencies have completed the initial RFI and will now wait to see who has made it on to the shortlist alongside the incumbent, Kitcatt Nohr Digitas.

Meanwhile, competition for Unipart, the logistics and supply group, has also advanced, with AAR co-ordinating pitches to take place this Friday and Monday. The process began in October last year.

The contest for the whisky brand Grant’s, which contacted agencies in December inviting them to pitch for its global advertising account via The Observatory, is moving at a creditable pace, with agencies competing over the next few weeks.

Alcohol pitches have been plentiful over recent months, suggesting that people are increasingly thirsty during tough times.

The next booze brand review could come via ISBA’s intermediary service, which is said by agency sources to have received a brief from an alcohol client. Molson Coors has previously run its advertising pitches – including the ongoing Carling review – through ISBA, so could this mystery brand be another of its portfolio that is up for grabs?

Chemistry meetings for the £5 million Center Parcs advertising pitch are taking place this week. Agencies involved include the resort’s strategy shop, 18 Feet & Rising.

Having just rebranded her agency from Yellowdoor to Portas, Mary Portas can now concentrate on the global Clarks pitch, of which her self-named shop is the UK incumbent. Clarks will be meeting with agencies over the next fortnight, and the review has drawn a great deal of attention from networks keen to help the footwear brand expand into Asian markets.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk