Saatchis to take over Lloyds task

Lloyds TSB has handed its entire above-the-line advertising account

to Saatchi & Saatchi and split with its other roster agency, DMB&B.

Saatchi & Saatchi will now handle all creative work for the newly merged

bank, bringing the curtain down on DMB&B’s six-year partnership with

TSB. DMB&B said it had elected not to be a secondary partner in the

relationship.

The win comes as the Lloyds TSB group, which also comprises the

Cheltenham & Gloucester building society, enters the final stages of a

media centralisation process and will fuel speculation that Zenith, the

media agency half-owned by Saatchis, is set to pick up the task.

Zenith is up against CIA Medianetwork, the Lloyds TSB incumbent, and

discussions are understood to be nearing conclusion. Optimedia and BBJ

Media Services were knocked out after an initial pitch.

Ford Ennals, the director of group marketing at Lloyds TSB, said: ’The

confirmation that Saatchi & Saatchi would be handling brand advertising

for the merged bank meant that it was inevitable that, looking ahead, we

would not be able to retain both advertising agencies on our roster.

We would like to thank DMB&B for producing distinctive work for six

years.’

Lloyds TSB announced last autumn that it would divide its advertising

account between Saatchis and DMB&B rather than consolidate into a single

shop. The decision followed a six-month review of the bank’s

advertising, intended to leave it with one agency covering all

above-the-line work.

The bank’s other roster agency, Lowe Howard-Spink, opted to end its

15-year relationship with Lloyds before the pitch for the business,

citing ’strategic and creative differences’.

Earlier this year, DMB&B launched a brand-building campaign for Lloyds

TSB. The campaign, the first since the merger of Lloyds and TSB,

underlined the bank’s sponsorship of the Five Nations rugby tournament

and the 1999 Rugby World Cup, using rugby to demonstrate the power of

teamwork.

Lloyds TSB spent pounds 12 million on advertising in the 12 months to

June, according to MMS.

This article was first published on Campaign