Dennis has an advertising budget of £3 million for Maxim and has brought in Naked to conduct research into its readership and provide advice on the marketing strategy for the title. Naked won the account after a pitch involving five undisclosed agencies.
Naked will not handle creative for Maxim, which has not spent significantly above the line since launching. Dennis is likely to hire a creative agency for the task but is also considering producing some work in-house.
Andy Semple, the group publishing director at Dennis, said: "We have been shifting editorially over the past 18 months and now the time is right for us to communicate the product."
Maxim is attempting to move slightly towards the higher-end men's titles such as GQ and build an older audience profile than the likes of FHM and Loaded. The increased support for Maxim is part of a package pledged for UK titles by Dennis' owner, Felix Dennis, after increased profits from its operations in the US.
The appointment of Naked comes a fortnight ahead of the next Audit Bureau of Circulations report. Maxim reported a circulation of 270,159 in the last report, but is expected to experience a decline for the period July to December. It is likely to report a circulation of slightly more than 250,000 this time around.
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