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Vodafone has confirmed it is in talks with some of the world's

biggest advertising networks to establish its first global agency

roster.

It wants to co-ordinate a single strategy that can challenge powerful

brands such as Orange globally (see story, page 2).

The telecoms company, which will spend around £1.5bn on marketing

this year, says it will pick two or more networks to execute advertising

across 14 major markets.

The chosen networks, likely to include WPP or Omnicom, would create

local advertising within the framework created by Vodafone's lead global

agency Wieden & Kennedy in Amsterdam.

Despite mounting speculation, David Haines, Vodafone's global brand

director, told Marketing this week no deal has yet been struck with any

one network.

"We're not going to be rushed into anything and we're putting together a

long list. Only around a dozen advertising agencies could handle

something like this and some have obvious competitive clashes," said

Haines.

The agency roster will be chosen by a global brand 'governance' group,

led by Haines and including chief executives or senior marketers from

each of Vodafone's major national operations.

In the UK this will include Gavin Darby, chief operating officer, who

took on responsibility for marketing from marketing director Paul

Donovan, when he moved to become chief operating officer for

Ireland.

Following the creative review, the group will look at its global

media.

Haines said the review does not necessarily spell the end to WCRS' hold

on the UK creative account or OMD's UK media business.

COMMENT

Vodafone may be one of the biggest companies in the UK but at the moment

its brand is meaningless to many of its customers across the world.

It is trying to migrate customers from its acquisitions such as AirTouch

and emotionally tie them into its own brand.

The global 'How are You?' campaign - created by W&K but adapted by WCRS

in the UK - is a glimpse of things to come.

The challenge will be to strike that tricky balance between global and

local, but moreover to come up with world beating creative advertising.