MEDIA: Green Isle Foods hands pizza work to Equinox

The appointment is part of an agency realignment among Northern Food Group companies, which also saw Leith London land the creative account (Marketing, May 2) and Smith & Milton appointed to handle strategic design.

The UK frozen pizza market is dominated by five major brands; Chicago Town, Goodfella's, Freschetta, McCain and San Marco, which compete against own-label brands which account for 42% of the market.

At the end of 2001, according to Nielsen Scantrack, the sector was worth £313.6m, down 1.2% on the previous year. During the year, Chicago Town's sales grew by more than 20% and Freschetta's by 19%, but Goodfella's lost 2%.

Goodfella's nine-inch Cheese Supreme is the UK's fifth-favourite pizza, with sales of £6.6m, and its nine-inch Cheese Supreme Twin is sixth most popular, with sales of £6.1m.

Since the departure of marketing director Andy Kinsella earlier this year, marketing of the brand has been overseen by pizza marketing manager Paul Reenan, in consultation with non-executive director Michael O'Rourke.

The creative agency reshuffle suggests that Goodfella's is planning a switch in strategy, away from the emphasis on generous toppings promoted in its TV ads by Partners BDDH last year and favoured by a number of pizza-makers.

Equinox's win means it now handles media for all Northern Food Group companies. It has handled the £3m Fox's Biscuits account for five years and picked up the £1m account for Fox's Confectionery last November.

This article was first published on Marketing