NEWS: Stamp of approval for Royal Mail incumbents

The Royal Mail has concluded its controversial PR review by re-hiring

incumbent agencies The Quentin Bell Organisation and The Reputation

Managers (TRM) to handle its PR business, worth an estimated pounds 1.5

million in fees.

QBO, which will continue to work on Royal Mail’s consumer PR, and the

company’s business to business PR agency TRM fought off competition from

18 agencies to hold on to the business.

Royal Mail, which is a subsidiary of The Post Office, announced the re-

pitch - part of a wide scale review of below-the-line suppliers - before

Christmas.

Contenders were whittled down to eight which presented to the

communication directors of Royal Mail’s three business: National,

International and its bulk mailing service Streamline in February.

QBO then pitched against The Public Relations Business for the consumer

business, and TRM against The Communication Group for the business to

business account, in the final round two weeks ago (PR Week, 15 March).

Both agencies now have wider remits. QBO, which had worked on Royal

Mail’s International business will work on National and Streamline with

a budget of pounds 1.25 million. TRM’s five-year International brief has

also been extended to cover all three units.

The Royal Mail’s selection procedure was heavily criticised by Paragon

Communications, also an incumbent.

However Julien Speed, managing director of shortlisted agency The PR

Business said in response: ‘It was scrupulously fair and totally

objective.’