BMP nets Vodafone rebranding

The Vodafone Group will stay with BMP DDB for a pounds 35 million

rebranding campaign this autumn after announcing plans this week to

relaunch its high street stores under the Vodafone name.

BMP is the incumbent on the main Vodafone account, but roster agencies

for the group’s current retail outlets include Banks Hoggins O’Shea,

Leopard, and Da Costa and Co. Once the campaign is under way, roster

agencies expect to have to pitch for the retail account - although BMP

is the frontrunner.

A media pitch has already been started (Campaign, last week).

A multi-media campaign will break in October, once most stores have been

refurbished. The group’s retail outlets currently come under several

names including Peoples Phone, Talkland and London Car Telephones.

Mike Caldwell, manager of corporate communications at Vodafone, said:

’Using the single name is advantageous for all our companies. The total

value of the network, service provision, and the retail outlets will all

benefit from the single advertising campaign.’

The advertising will continue with the theme of BMP’s long-running

campaign for Vodafone, featuring Kyle MacLachlan, the star of Twin

Peaks, which has the endline: ’The Vodafone network - you are not

alone.’

Vodafone unveiled a fresh corporate identity earlier this week, backed

by a pounds 15 million budget.

BMP won the pounds 15 million account in January 1996 after a final

pitch against Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters.

Vodafone was the UK’s first mobile phone company when it launched in

1985, but its advertising presence lagged behind rivals such as Orange

and Cellnet until BMP’s appointment last year.

This article was first published on Campaign