BMP Optimum picks up 20m National Lottery

National Lottery operator Camelot has awarded its 20m media buying account to BMP Optimum after a pitch between five agencies.

The media review was called after Camelot moved its creative account out of Saatchi & Saatchi into WCRS in August.

Media buying and planning has been handled by Saatchi’s former media partner Zenith Media since the Lottery’s launch in 1994. Zenith pitched for the account along with MediaVest, Walker Media, Universal McCann and BMP Optimum.

The account includes all media buying and implementational planning except for poster buying, which remains with Portland. Camelot recently appointed WCRS sister agency Mediapolis as its strategic media agency of record.

The operator launches a new advertising campaign this week emphasising the good causes which benefit from Lottery funds. It is widely interpreted as the first stage of Camelot’s campaign to retain the National Lottery licence when it comes up for review in 2001.

The company still has to overcome the negative publicity generated by the leaking of its financial results to Marketing Week, which showed huge increases in directors salaries (MW May 29 1997).

The new execution is part of a three phase campaign which will use the new slogan “Maybe, just maybe”.