Britannia sees pitches for 3m media account

The Britannia Building Society is reviewing its 3m media planning and buying account.

The building society has shortlisted four agencies. The pitch list includes John Ayling & Associates, the incumbent.

“The media market is changing rapidly as is the financial services industry,” says Julia Grant, marketing services controller at the Britannia Group. “We have been with John Ayling since April 1993 and we feel it is time to benchmark the current practices in the media industry.”

The pitch is thought to have been called at the initiative of new marketing director Gerald Gregory, who moved from head of lending to marketing last month. He replaced Mike Kirsch who left to become head of marketing at NatWest Life & Investment Services in June.

The pitch process is due to be completed by the beginning of November. The creative account is not thought to be affected by the media review.

Both the Britannia Building Society and its insurance offshoot Britannia Life are included in the review. The company spends about 1m a year on press and 2m on TV advertising.