HMC wins Saatchi brief and severs tie with BMP DDB

Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications (HMC) has been taken on by ad

heavyweight Saatchi & Saatchi, ending the PR firm's four-year

association with rival ad agency BMP DDB.

BMP DDB chairman Chris Powell said a decision on whether to appoint a

replacement firm was 'not a matter of urgency' and would be decided in

the autumn.

The appointment will see the PR shop undertake a corporate

communications brief for the firm, founded and since forsaken by Maurice

and Charles Saatchi.

Saatchi & Saatchi approached Hobsbawm Macaulay 'on reputation', and the

appointment will see the agency report to Saatchi executive chairman

Tamara Ingram.

The agency was founded by Chancellor Gordon Brown's wife Sarah Macaulay

and Julia Hobsbawm, who leads the account. According to Hobsbawm, the

split with BMP DDB was amicable and undertaken purely 'for business

reasons'.

Hobsbawm Macaulay will undertake an ongoing campaign to ensure the

client remains at the forefront of the UK and international ad

scene.

The PR firm has previously worked for The Economist Group, the BBC, and

now represents the Baltic Exchange.