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The telecoms company wants its Telefonica brand to make way for its O2 and Movistar brands at a consumer level in the various markets it operates in, but remain its corporate brand.

O2 operates in the UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia while Movistar operates in Spain and Latin America.

The change will be greatest in the latter regions because Movistar, which has been purely a mobile telecoms brand, is to replace Telefonica as the brand for the company's whole consumer offering -- including fixed line telecoms, internet and IPTV.

The exception is Brazil, where Telefonica and Portugal Telecom jointly own a brand called Vivo.

In Northern Europe, where O2 is already Telefonica's consumer brand, there will be little change except in the Czech Republic where there is more emphasis on Telefonica.

In the pitch Telefonica held for the rebranding project design agencies were advised to partner with global networks.

Seven groups are understood to have contested the pitch including Futurebrand and fellow Interpublic Group ad agency McCann Erickson; O2's ad agency VCCP and the Publicis network; the BBDO network; Interbrand and sister Omnicom shop DDB; US design agency Prophet; and O2's design agency Lambie Nairn with fellow WPP ad agency Young & Rubicam.

Telefonica has awarded the first two stages of the project to Interbrand/DDB and the final third stage to Lambie Nairn/Y&R.

Interbrand/DDB will create brand strategy, positioning and identity. Lambie Nairn/Y&R will then handle brand implementation and guardianship.

Lambie Nairn was invited to pitch because of its brand guardianship work for O2, according to the agency's client services director Nicky Nicolls.

Interbrand declined to comment.

Telefonica has 259m customers around the world and acquired O2 and Czech telecom company Cesky Telecom in 2005.