Gallaher was this week choosing between two agencies vying for the
job of giving its Benson & Hedges cigarette brand a consistent image
across mainland Europe.
TBWA Paris and the London office of Red Cell - formerly Conquest - have
pitched for the assignment, which Gallaher is said to be supporting with
a budget of between $15 million and $20 million.
The task will not extend to the UK where the Benson & Hedges brand has a
long history of famous advertising through CDP.
Gallaher is understood to want to put some added momentum behind the
brand in Europe where, until now, it has had only minimal advertising
support through a number of local agencies. Instead, the company has
been concentrating mainly on the promotion of Silk Cut.
"The company wants to get a grip on the brand," an industry source
said.
"If it can achieve sales growths of just 1 per cent in key European
markets, it amounts to an awful lot of money."
Pitches have already taken place in Paris and the company's senior
European marketers were meeting this Thursday to pick the winner.
Red Cell, which drafted in staffers from London and New York to contest
the pitch, is understood to have been shortlisted because it already
works on Benson & Hedges in Spain.
Although its gold packaging has made the brand well known in the UK, it
suffers in Europe where a number of variations are sold and market
positionings vary between countries. The marketing is also complicated
by different restrictions on tobacco advertising across the continent.
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