Leading canned tuna brand John West is in the process of selecting
an agency for product launches later this year.
The company is understood to have heard pitches from, among others,
Lexis PR and Talk Loud. It has used specialist food agency Wearne
Associates on all product launches over the past nine years.
Wearne Associates is in the process of being acquired by Bell Pottinger,
which plans to transfer its clients into the Good Relations Group (PR
Week, 8 October), while the Wearne brand will be rebuilt as a crisis
management specialist.
Wearne MD Alison Wearne said she was unaware that John West was looking
for a different agency. John West, Talk Loud and Lexis PR were
unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
John West has annual sales of more than pounds 156 million. However, the
canned fish market is slightly down, with a drop in sales of 6.3 per
cent, according to market research group AC Nielsen.
As a result, the company is to spend pounds 6 million this year on brand
support, including new packaging, product development and television
advertising.
