Barclays to review media account

Barclays Bank is preparing a review of its pounds 25 million media

planning and buying business this summer as part of an overhaul of its

marketing communications.

The business is handled by MediaVest and the media agency is expected to

be invited to repitch when the formal review kicks off later this

year.

The review will include the main Barclays branding work as well as media

for the b2 investments division.

It is the first time that Barclays has reviewed its media since 1996

when MediaVest (then the Media Centre) scooped the newly centralised

account. The agency was already a Barclays incumbent and has now worked

on the business for more than ten years.

The media rethink follows a review of Barclays’ creative account a year

ago when the business moved from its long-standing creative partner, J.

Walter Thompson, into Leagas Delaney. Leagas’ first work for Barclays -

the controversial ’A Big World Needs a Big Bank’ series featuring movie

stars such as Anthony Hopkins and Nick Moran - broke last month.

Both reviews are part of a reshaping of Barclays’ approach to marketing

following a number of senior management changes. A new chief executive,

Matt Barrett, joined last year and a new retail marketing director,

Belinda Furneaux-Harris, was appointed last summer.

The bank has established a committee to review all its marketing

services suppliers. One of the main focuses for the committee is

marketing costs and cost efficiencies are expected to be a key issue in

the media review.

Barclays has attracted some negative press in recent months. The bank

has courted controversy over its plans to cull local branches.

Barclays’ latest advertising campaign has also drawn criticism for its

emphasis on size.

This article was first published on Campaign