New CIA blow as Zenith lands 30m Lloyds TSB

Zenith Media has snatched the 30m media buying and planning account for the Lloyds TSB Group from CIA Medianetwork.

The move follows Lloyds TSB’s appointment of Saatchi & Saatchi as its creative agency (MW September 24).

The two agencies had been shortlisted after a four-way pitch against Optimedia and BBJ.

Previously, CIA handled Lloyds TSB, while the bank’s sister company Cheltenham & Gloucester used Zenith for its TV buying.

Ford Ennals, director of group marketing for Lloyds TSB, says: “We are looking forward to entering into a new partnership with Zenith Media and Saatchi & Saatchi. There are benefits in consolidating our work with Zenith and Saatchi which CIA was not able to match.”

Graham Duff, chief executive, Zenith Media, says: “Lloyds TSB’s endorsement of our full media service is tremendously satisfying.”

The decision is a major blow for CIA Medianetwork, which lost the merged 18m Somerfield and Kwik Save account in September.

In August, the agency lost the 9m UK media planning and buying account for French luxury goods giant LVMH following a pan-European media review. In July, its TV arm, The Negotiation Centre, lost BT’s 110m TV buying account to the Allmond Partnership.

But the agency has also won the 8m media task to launch Commercial General Union and the 23m pan-European account for Daewoo.