Mediapolis wins 5m Wales

Mediapolis has won the three-year 5m Wales Tourist Board media buying and planning account.

The agency won a four-way pitch between Booth Lockett Makin, The Media Business and incumbent Media Options.

Mediapolis’ work for the WTB will include TV, posters and press and a significant proportion will be spent on direct response press ads, inserts and mailshots.

Bob Offen, chief executive officer of Mediapolis UK, says “We look forward to helping Wales achieve a significantly higher share of the UK tourism market.”

FCA! won the WTB creative account from Saatchi & Saatchi in July and has since launched a through-the-line campaign featuring the catchline “two hours and a million miles away”. The campaign is designed to emphasise how close Wales is to urban areas in the UK.

In February, FCA! launched a guerilla marketing campaign featuring ITV weather presenter Siân Lloyd washing car windscreens to promote Wales to London drivers.

Wales, which receives an annual grant from the government of 14.7m, is facing increased competition from the Scottish, Northern Irish and English regional tourist boards in the short-breaks market.