Barclays to delay £18m TV campaign

Barclays has postponed its £18m TV advertising campaign until next year, in the face of a 40 per cent decline in half-year profits.

Barclays has postponed its &£18m TV advertising campaign until next year, in the face of a 40 per cent decline in half-year profits.

The bank appointed Leagas Delaney to its creative account in May, ending a seven-year relationship with incumbent J Walter Thompson.

A number of sources close to the process say Barclays was keen to launch a new brand-based campaign as soon as possible and intended it to break in the autumn.

But the bank is understood to have postponed the campaign in a attempt to bolster its declining bottom line.

Analysts are forecasting a 40 per cent drop in half-year pre-tax profits, from &£1.3bn to &£765m, when Barclays announces its interim results on August 5.

While Barclays’ profits decline can partly be attributed to restructuring costs, analysts agree it does not look good for the bank.

This week, after more than a year without a chief executive, the bank announced the appointment of Bank of Montreal chairman and chief executive Matt Barrett.

Barrett joins a company criticised for its lack of direction because of its long-term vacancy at the top. Some observers say Barclays is determined to shore up its bottom line to rebuff analysts, who suggest the company could still be vulnerable to takeover.

The agency review process continued despite the shock resignation of Martin Taylor last November, and the equally unexpected departure in April of his replacement, Michael O’Neill, who quit on his first day for health reasons.

A Barclays spokeswoman says the bank never set a date for the campaign to air.