Beenz hands Banks £10m global brief

Banks Hoggins O’Shea/FCB has won the global creative account for digital currency provider Beenz.com, estimated at &£10m for the first year.

Banks Hoggins was appointed after pitching against six unnamed rivals and will be paid a proportion of its fee in Beenz currency.

The agency will create a global brand-building campaign for Beenz and will also handle media buying and planning for the brand. Lowe Direct previously handled creative work for Beenz.

An online and offline marketing campaign, worth up to &£5m in the UK alone, will break this autumn. It will feature press and poster work, as well as viral marketing. TV ads could follow next year.

Nicolas de Santis, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer at Beenz.com, says: “Banks Hoggins has demonstrated a commitment to show return on investment and a strategy which does not throw hundreds of millions of dollars at marketing.”

Banks Hoggins will also attempt to broker deals between Beenz and its other clients over use of the currency.

Beenz currently has 300 online partners, including Excite and MP3, and 3 million customers, a number the company hopes to double in the short term.