Buyout fuels account pitch for Scotsman

The Scotsman is looking for an ad agency, following a change of ownership in November last year.

It is thought the need for a higher profile has been spurred on by rival paper The Herald’s recent London ad campaign.

The Herald, based in Glasgow has been attempting to market itself as a national paper with a Scottish skew, and The Scotsman may be pursuing a similar strategy.

The Scotsman was bought from Thomson by millionaire twins David and Frederick Barclay, who own The European. They also acquired Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News, although the ad review is thought to be limited to The Scotsman.

Md Warwick Brindle announced last week that he is to leave the paper, although he is still heading the agency search.

Agencies have been given a tight time-scale to prepare, as the title’s management is keen to have a TV campaign on screen by the beginning of March. Previous advertising has been co-ordinated in-house, although a variety of Scots agencies have produced creative work.