3m Standard Life axes Faulds
The 3m Standard Life advertising business, one of the largest creative accounts in Scotland, is about to drop Faulds Advertising and could move to a London agency.
The mutual insurer’s corporate advertising account has been with Faulds in Edinburgh since 1992. The decision to review the account was taken after a five-figure sum was spent on shooting a campaign which failed in research.
Standard Life advertising manager Pam Hodge says: “We have worked well and closely with Faulds. But we took the latest campaign it developed for us to research and we found we don’t need to launch it regionally, but instead should roll out [a different campaign for a different strategy] nationally. It doesn’t look like this will be with Faulds.”
Spend on the account is 3m, but Hodge says it will have to be significantly increased if the brand-building campaign is to work. She refuses to give details of the brand strategy.
A shortlist will be drawn up in the next fortnight. “I will talk primarily to London agencies but may speak to some Scottish ones as well,” says Hodge.
Standard Life, Europe’s biggest mutual life insurer with 52bn in assets under management, was last on television in October 1995 with the Wonderful Life campaign.
In a separate move, Standard Life is looking for an agency for its soon-to-be-launched banking operation. The Union, Summerfield Wilmot Keene and JDA have been shortlisted.
