United Biscuits has consolidated its PR by appointing Lexis PR as
the lead agency for KP Foods, on fees in excess of pounds 250,000. The
work was won after a two-way pitch against four-year incumbent,
Countrywide Porter Novelli.
The win means that Lexis now holds the lion’s share of United Biscuits’
external PR accounts. The agency was appointed in June 1998 on a pounds
300,000 consumer brief to McVities, working across brands such as Jaffa
Cakes, Penguin, McVities Digestives and Go Ahead biscuits. The KP work
starts from January 2000 on a consumer and trade brief across its snacks
and crisps brands, including Hula Hoops, Skips, Mini Cheddars, and Go
Ahead Crisps.
The account has undergone a change of focus: while Countrywide’s brief
was primarily trade PR, the primary audience for Lexis will be the
consumer.
According to Angela Ryan, communications manager at KP, Lexis was
selected because of its youth marketing experience. The work will
include intensive campaigns on Hula Hoops and Skips, two of KP’s core
brands. ’Consolidation of KP’s and McVitie’s business was seen as a
bonus,’ said Ryan.
Lexis has already done some work across the UB brands with the ’Free
Maths Stuff for Schools’ campaign currently running in the Daily Mirror
which is branded by McVities, Hula Hoops and Skips.
United Biscuits retains Countrywide for KP Nuts and McVities trade PR is
handled by Circle Communications.
