Weetabix adds Banks to roster

Banks Hoggins O’Shea has gained a place on the Weetabix roster after winning the 2m business for Weetabix cereal brand Weetaflakes.

The agency joins Lowe How-

ard-Spink and Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO on the roster after the brand grew almost ten per cent in a year.

Weetabix saw credentials from Mellors Reay & Partners, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe and Leopard before selecting BHO, but commercial director Leslie Comley stresses that a formal pitch did not take place.

He says: “The brand grew 9.9 per cent in a year when the market has grown by under two per cent. We believe it now needs more focused attention.

“We wanted a small but top quality team with which we could work closely.”

Media buying is handled by CIA, and this is unchanged.

Weetaflakes is a wheat-based flaked cereal which was launched 20 years ago and has about a 0.5 per cent value share of the market.

Advertising for the brand was previously handled by Dublin-based agency Arks, but it has not appeared on TV for a year.

Weetaflakes’ advertising budget for 1996-7 was originally set at 1m but is expected to rise to 2m because of increased activity for the brand.