One2One to pick agency for 8m direct marketing work

Mercury One2One is poised to choose an agency for its 8m direct marketing account.

The result of the pitch – between Craik Jones, Bates Communications, WWAV Rapp Collins and one other agency – is expected next week.

Craik Jones is the incumbent agency below the line for Mercury, which has been merged into Cable & Wireless Communications. Its parent company, Cable & Wireless, owns 50 per cent of One2One.

The brief is to improve customer acquisition and retention, by launching a loyalty scheme. Orange – which also has its direct marketing account up for pitch – Vodafone and Cellnet all have loyalty schemes in place.

Ogilvy & Mather Direct picked up the Cellnet direct marketing business earlier this month (MW April 17).

One2One has recently introduced a set of new tariffs, which it claims are 20 per cent lower than its nearest rival.

The network, the smallest of the four, is expanding to South Wales, Scotland, Tyneside and East Anglia. It upped its coverage to 80 per cent from 40 per cent of the UK last year, with the aim of 85 per cent coverage by the end of this year.