The agency will now work on developing Friends Provident's first brand-building campaign, using press, online and events.
Historically, the financial services group has not been a high-profile advertiser. Instead, it has focused its spend on individual products, such as pensions, rather than on building a high-profile consumer presence as competitors such as Scottish Widows and Norwich Union have done. This new advertising campaign is likely to target independent financial advisors.
There was no incumbent advertising agency on the business. M&C Saatchi was appointed to the account in 1997, two years after McCann Erickson resigned the brief, blaming the company's lack of commitment.
Friends Provident is one of the UK's leading financial-services businesses.
The company posted a strong set of financial results for the first quarter of 2005, with UK sales up 20 per cent to 拢88 million, boosted by 29 per cent growth in group pensions sales.
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