GRE brand communications manager resigns mid-pitch

Guardian Royal Exchange Group has lost its brand communications manager Peter Valentin while it conducts an agency review.

According to sources close to the 3.25m account, Valentin was instrumental in the pitch process and his resignation is seen as a blow to the review.

However, a spokesman for the company is at pains to point out that the two matters are unrelated. “He had an involvement (in the pitch) but more of a strategic than a tactical one,” he says.

The company is talking to WCRS and BMP DDB Needham, as well as incumbent CDP, which has held the account for a decade.

GRE puts the majority of its ad spend through Guardian Direct, the direct-selling arm for personal, motor and household insurance.

Guardian Royal Exchange Group is the umbrella for a number of different products including Guardian Direct, Guardian Insurance, Guardian Health and PPP health insurance and Guardian Financial Services.

David Halston, marketing manager for Guardian Direct, says the company is looking at all possible options.

“We’re reviewing everything at the moment,” he adds. “However, our direct business gets the majority of our ad spend and that is unlikely to change.”

The review does not include media planning and buying, which stays at BBJ media services.