IPC Connect appoints Roose for women’s brief

IPC Connect, the weeklies division of IPC Media, is understood to have appointed Roose & Partners to handle its portfolio of women’s weeklies, estimated to be worth about &£5m.

The agency pitched against Leith London, Banks Hoggins O’Shea/ FCB and the incumbent St Luke’s, which handled the Woman and Woman’s Own accounts. The pitch was overseen by the AAR.

The IPC Connect titles include Chat, Now, Woman and the recently launched Your Life.

The Connect marketing director Sam Philips led the pitch. It is understood that Roose & Partners will work across all the Connect titles, to help build brands and increase circulation figures.

The July to December 2000 Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures show an overall decline of 1.3 per cent year on year in the women’s weekly sector.

No one from Roose & Partners was available for comment as Marketing Week went to press. IPC Media could not confirm or deny the appointment.

Earlier this year, IPC Connect restructured its marketing department to focus on six key market sectors – classic, mature, celebrity, new media and youth and easy entertainment (MW February 15).

Leith London handles advertising for Marie Claire – an IPC Southbank title.

AOL Time Warner recently acquired IPC Media for &£1.15bn (MW August 2).