Barclaycard has shortlisted four agencies to pitch for its first
dedicated consumer PR campaign in five years.
The shortlisted agencies are: Charles Barker, GCI London, Countrywide
and Key Communications.
The fee for the account is expected to be well into six figures.
Barclaycard has a pounds 50 million UK marketing budget and to date has
relied heavily on TV and cinema advertising featuring Rowan
Atkinson.
The decision to employ a full-time agency reflects the increasing
competition in the credit card market. Barclaycard is currently the
biggest credit card in Europe with nine million members but newcomers
such as Tesco, Goldfish and a raft of American banks are seen as a
threat.
Barclays’ deputy head of UK bank PR, Chris Tucker said a decision is
expected by the end of the month. ’We want to stretch our coverage
beyond the personal finance pages and let people know that we have a lot
to offer above our competitors,’ she said.
