BMP to raise awareness of millennium computer bug

BMP DDB has been enlisted to help the Government raise awareness of the millennium computer “bug”. The advertising agency is part of a partnership which has won the public relations and strategic marketing account for the millennium bug campaign. The Quentin Bell Organisation and direct marketing specialist WWAV Rapp Collins form the other members of the team. BMP is responsible for marketing strategy. The partnership reports to Action 2000 – the group set up by the Department of Trade & Industry to advise companies about the potential impact of bug. Its initial four-month contract runs until March 1998, when it will be reviewed. The precise details of the millennium bug campaign are not yet finalised, but there will be a phone hotline launched at the end of this month, and a direct mail campaign to businesses. There is also a strong possibility of television and newspaper advertising, but this would be subject to a separate pitch scheduled for the spring. Don Cruickshank, chairman of Action 2000, says: “QBO came to us with a set of proposals and ideas which will help convert awareness into action and bring the millennium bug campaign to life.”