Campbell's gives £11m planning role to Naked

Campbell Grocery Products has centralised its £11 million media planning business into Naked Communications in a bid to apply creative media solutions across its portfolio of brands.

The account move is a blow to Zenith Media, which previously handled planning on brands including Homepride, Oxo and Campbell's Soup. Before the review, Naked handled planning for Campbell's Batchelors Super Noodles brand.

Zenith will continue to handle buying across the Campbell's portfolio.

Last year it won planning and buying for Batchelors from Initiative Media after it was sold by Unilever to Campbell Soup Company.

The media review was conducted by Robert Rees, the interim marketing director at Campbell Soup Company. He was brought in this year to replace Andrew Slamin, who moved to the new role of European category director for sauces and food flavourings.

Naked's role has been widened after its planning role for Super Noodles resulted in a range of activity to support the Super Noodles Vindaloo flavour, including washroom stunts featuring warnings around cubicles. It also worked on the Cup A Soup brand.

Rees said: "We've made the change to maximise the communications options open to us. We want more of the magic that has been achieved with Super Noodles, which has become a cult brand. Naked offers different and unique communications solutions and we have brands such as Campbell's, Homepride and Oxo that are mature and can be reinvigorated.

"The idea was to get the best brains possible. Zenith is very good at buying and Naked at planning. We wanted best-of- breed agencies on each discipline."

The creative account is currently split between Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and Mother. AMV works on the Campbell's, Oxo and Homepride brands and Mother on Super Noodles. Rees said there are no plans to review these arrangements.

Zenith Media also faces a possible review of its Premier International Foods media planning account. Premier is talking to media agencies about planning for its brands, which include Typhoo and Branston Pickle.

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