Psion draws up list for £10m European brief
Psion, the hand-held computer company identified by Bill Gates as the biggest threat to Microsoft, is reviewing its creative and media accounts – expected to be worth more than &£10m next year.
The UK-based manufacturer, which aims to dominate the new market for software on mobile phones and mobile computers, is seeking an agency to create pan-European work.
Its creative agency roster includes FTC, Spirit Advertising and Dutton Merrifield. Media is handled on a country-by-country basis.
A source close to Psion says UK media incumbent John Ayling & Associates is expected to hold on to its account, while a network could be used to handle buying in the rest of Europe.
The review follows the appointment of Alasdair Seton Marsden – a former Microsoft marketer – as marketing director (MW September 9).
Pitches are expected early next year after Seton-Marsden has reviewed the company’s marketing structure.
Psion aims to make its EPOC system, which competes with Microsoft’s Windows CE, the dominant operating platform for so-called third generation mobiles and hand-held computers through a joint venture with mobile manufacturers and rival computer company Palm.
Psion’s portfolio of hand-held computers, which includes the Series 3, 5 and 7 ranges and newly launched Revo, account for 48 per cent of its &£164m annual sales.
