First Telecom seeks agency for £5m drive

First Telecom, the discount phone and Internet telecoms company, is searching for a creative agency to handle a &£5m branding push in its core European markets.

The company, which has operations in France and Germany as well as the UK, has approached a number of large agencies to run a campaign that will be separate to its day-to-day advertising. First Telecom’s UK above-the-line account, worth &£1.6m last year, is handled by Walsh Trott Chick Smith.

It is not yet known whether media planning and buying, handled by Mediacom TMB, will be part of the pitch.

First Telecom group marketing manager Gabriella Goddard says the appointment will not affect its relationship with agencies in individual markets.

The move comes after First Telecom last year pulled an outdoor campaign by Walsh Trott Chick Smith, called www.BT.con, which called into question BT’s Net charges.

First Telecom, which offers national and international discount calls, has been in dispute with BT over the cost of using the Net, following its decision last year to offer a package of subscriber-driven, cut-price call deals.