£4m London mayor drive to WCRS

WCRS has beaten three other agencies to win a £4m press, poster and television advertising campaign launching next year’s London mayoral elections.

The contract was awarded this week by the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions (DTER) following a protracted selection procedure involving three rounds of pitches.

A decision was made this week after a head-on pitch between WCRS and Delaney Lund Knox Warren. CDP and Euro RSCG were eliminated in earlier rounds.

The campaign will explain how the system of proportional representation used in the Greater London Authority elections, to be held on May 4 next year, will work.

Londoners will have four votes in total – for their first two choices of mayor, an assembly member and a party.

The new London Authority will be made up of 14 constituency members, with the remaining 11 members to be decided by proportional representation, along party lines.

DTER spokeswoman Mary-Anne Auckland says: “London voters are being asked to elect a mayor for the first time and they will also be facing a new and potentially complicated voting system.

“The ad campaign will explain how it works and also provide background information about the mayoral assembly.”