CIA's digital outfit Outrider has retained Direct Line's online
business after the insurer's parent company - Royal Bank of Scotland -
called a review two months ago.
The account - Outrider's largest - was not subject to a formal pitch,
although Beyond Interactive, the digital arm of Direct Line's offline
agency Mediacom, submitted cost proposals.
It is understood there have been no changes to the Outrider account team
or overall online spend by the business, which covers the car-buying
site Jamjar.com and motor insurance and financial services under the
Directline.com umbrella.
Account director Jo Baldwin, who is in charge of Direct Line alongside
manager Amanda Jones, said Outrider had performed well in the face of a
worsening outlook for online agencies.
"We've won every pitch we've gone for in the last six months," she
said.
The agency has picked up Ladbrokes, Priceline, BOL and Canon in the last
two months, boosting media billings by 40 per cent year-on-year.
Baldwin said the Direct Line review "was a nervous time" but "what we
offer as a company can't be beaten in the marketplace".
Outrider deputy managing director Kirsti Wilson added: "We have worked
with Direct Line for over two-and-a-half years, building three
sustainable digital businesses, and we look forward to driving these
even further in 2002."
Direct Line is said to be one of the biggest online spenders in the UK.
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