EMAP Active on hunt for third roster agency
EMAP Active, the newly formed consumer magazine division of publishing giant EMAP, has confirmed it will look for an advertising agency.
Active group marketing director, Andrew Gillespie, who joins from magazine distributor Frontline (MW August 6), says the division may consider agencies other than existing EMAP roster shops, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe and Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which work for the lan and Metro divisions respectively.
He says: “It could be better to have a bespoke agency for Active as our titles are radically different to lan and Metro’s.”
He says another option is consolidating the ad accounts for the three divisions into one agency.
Active was formed from the merger of four divisions – Apex, Pursuit, Nationals and Images. Its 58 titles cover the motoring, country, sport and leisure sectors and include the first EMAP magazine, 48-year-old Motor Cycle News, and other newsstand titles such as Max Power and Angling Times.
Gillespie says his division will challenge the attention usually given to Metro and lan – publishers of glamorous high profile titles such as FHM and Elle.
He says the plans call for high quality advertising. “You are going to see campaigns which are a lot smarter. We have got to find the right creative partner to talk to the consumer and we will use a high quality agency to do it,” he says.
Last year, lan and Metro spent 5m on advertising key titles such as Minx, More!, Red, Empire, Q and Smash Hits. EMAP National and Pursuit spent 1m on Bike, Car, Total Sport and Sported.
EMAP Active begins trading on October 1.
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