Total Media bags £2m Nickelodeon business

Nickelodeon UK, the children’s cable and satellite channel, has appointed Total Media to handle its &£2m media planning and buying account.

The agency picks up the account following an introduction by creative agency MML, which was appointed to the business last month following a competitive pitch.

Both agencies will work for Nickelodeon UK on a trial basis initially. Their first project will be the channel’s &£1m autumn campaign. Nickelodeon says it is likely that it will retain both agencies. The channel’s head of marketing Gill Seaton says: “We have appointed the agencies to handle the autumn campaign, we do not intend to review the agencies again, unless we are unhappy with the work.”

The channel has used Roose & Partners and McCann-Erickson in the past to produce creative work on a project basis and Manning Gottlieb Media handled media planning and buying.

Last December, Nickelodeon poached Turner Broadcasting marketing chief Nicky Parkinson to be managing director. Parkinson previously worked at Grey Advertising and Saatchi & Saatchi before moving into television (MW May 3).

Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom, which also owns MTV. Last year Nickelodeon joined other commercial broadcasters in a protest to the Government about the BBC’s plans to launch two digital children’s channels.