NEWS: PHD lands media task for UK Gold

Pattison Horswell Durden has snatched the pounds 4 million media

planning and buying task for the satellite television channel, UK Gold,

from the incumbent, the Media Centre.

PHD, which already handles the media account for UK Gold’s sister

channel, UK Living, won the centralised business without a pitch and

will take on the account early next year.

Ian Riley, UK Gold’s marketing director, admitted that he would not be

renewing the agreement with the Media Centre for 1996.

‘Next year will see a change in the way that UK Gold is advertised and

marketed,’ he said. ‘There will be a new branding campaign and a

different programming strategy. Our relationship with the Media Centre

has come to a natural conclusion and now seemed a good time for a

change.’

Riley added that he had been impressed with PHD’s quality of thinking,

and said that the agency’s planning skills would be increasingly

important in helping to drive the channel forward through its next stage

of development.

Nick Horswell, a partner at PHD, said: ‘We’re very proud of the work

we’ve done for UK Living and it’s always great to be given more business

from an existing client.’

The Media Centre loses just over pounds 1 million of UK Gold media

business, but the account is to be worth up to pounds 4 million for PHD

because of a planned increase in activity for the station in 1996. UK

Gold is understood to be planning a more mainstream advertising and

marketing drive next year.

The channel has already kicked off a review of its creative account

(Campaign, 13 October) and is down to a shortlist of two agencies - GGT

and Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe. The creative incumbent, D’Arcy Masius

Benton and Bowles, a sister company to the Media Centre, was knocked off

the pitch in the early stages.

GGT and Rainey Kelly’s creative proposals are now in test, and a

decision on the winner is expected by Christmas.

This article was first published on Campaign