DoH beefs up roster for social marketing project

Agencies on the list for social marketing - effectively the use of third-party endorsement to convey health messages - are Band & Brown (B&B), Constella Group, The Forster Company and The Red ­Consultancy.

The DoH has also split the roster into formal subsections: consumer and stakeholder relations, social marketing, broadcast PR and internal comms.

The DoH said: ‘We have used social marketing previously on local projects but now want to use it more.'

Three agencies have been dropped from the roster: QBO Bell Pottinger, public sector powerhouse Geron­imo Communications, and BB Carlson. New to the roster are Hill & Knowlton, B&B, Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster, McCann Erickson Communications House, The Red Consultancy, Freud Communications, Grayling, Blue Rubicon and markettiers4dc.

Issues affecting the DoH include the rise in obesity, the NHS's financial woes, criticism of the increasing reliance on the private ­sector, and delays to the ­multi-billion-pound overhaul of the health service's computer system.

The roster review - the first since its creation four years ago - kicked off ­earlier this year (PRWeek, 17 March).

The DoH said the new roster will be in place for the next two years.

DoH ROSTER: WHO's IN AND OUT

IN
Consumer and stakeholder relations 
Band & Brown, Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster, Fishburn Hedges, The Forster Company, Grayling, Harrison Cowley, Hill & Knowlton, McCann Erickson, Munro & Forster, The Red Consultancy

Internal communications
Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster,Fishburn Hedges, The Forster Company, Hill & Knowlton,McCann Erickson, Munro & Forster, Porter Novelli

Broadcast
PR Freud Communications, McCann Erickson Communications House, markettiers4dc, Blue Rubicon

Social marketing
Band & Brown, The Constella Group, The Forster Company, The Red Consultancy

OUT
Geronimo Communications, QBO Bell Pottinger, BB Carlson