2m British Council hunt for agency

The British Council is looking for a marketing partner to develop and promote an international brand for British education.

The brand, called British Educ-ation, is to be launched later this year and will feature in an international campaign next year to attract foreign students to British universities, colleges and independent schools both in the UK and overseas.

“We are looking for a marketing partner who can work with us in the whole marketing [process],” says a Council spokeswoman.

The account is worth about 2m, and the Council has selected a preliminary list of advertising and marketing agencies. Developing nations such as China, Brazil and the Gulf states are among the countries likely to be targeted in the campaign.

British schools are locked in a battle with their American and antipodean counterparts for a slice of the English-language and higher-education market.