±±¾©Èü³µpk10

IPC Magazines is reviewing its pounds 5m media buying account with

a view to centralising the business into one agency.

It has invited five agencies to pitch for the business, which could

double in size next year.

Those invited to tender are the three incumbent agencies, Zenith Media,

CIA Medianetwork and Carat.

Two other unnamed agencies have also been asked to present.

Zenith Media currently handles the media for Women’s Weeklies titles

such as Woman and Woman’s Own. These have historically spent the most on

advertising.

CIA Medianetwork looks after the TV Weeklies and Music and Sport groups,

whose flagship brands include TV Times and Loaded.

IPC’s Southbank division, which publishes Marie Claire and Options, is

handled by Carat.

The decision to centralise has been planned for some time and follows

IPC Magazine’s management buyout from Reed Elsevier earlier this year,

as well as its declared aim to make its structure leaner.

Having one media agency of record will also help IPC pursue its strategy

of increasing spend behind key brands.

Mike Matthew, IPC’s chief executive, said: ’We have been guilty of

undermarketing our titles and we want to change that. At the next set of

ABCs there will be a marked improvement.’

Earlier this year, IPC announced it was to spend pounds 7.5m on

marketing a number of key titles such as Woman, Now and Chat (Marketing,

July 3).

In October it launched a brand- building TV campaign for TV Times,

through Delaney Fletcher Bozell, and is certain to follow this strategy

with other core titles.

The media review is being led by IPC’s management team, which comprises

the managing directors of each division: SouthBank, headed by Colin

Reeve-Smith; the Weeklies Group, headed by Linda Lancaster-Gaye; Sly

Bailey, managing director of the TV Weeklies group; and Sylvia Auton and

Andy McDuff, who jointly head the Music and Sport division.

Also part of the team is Philippa Stuart, IPC’s marketing director,

advertising.

Pitches will take place in December, with a decision expected early next

year.

Meanwhile, IPC has reported that first-half profits are up 3.1% to

pounds 33.6m in the year to June.

The result reflects sharp circulation falls in sales for some of its

titles, such as Woman and Woman’s Weekly, which Matthew has promised to

reverse.