MindShare scoops £30m Hutchison 3G business
Third-generation mobile phone licence holder Hutchison 3G has appointed MindShare as its media planner and buyer, following a pitch that included CDP Media, MediaCom and Manning Gottlieb Media (MGM). The account is believed to be worth about &£30m.
The move follows the appointment of TBWA/London last year as Hutchison’s ad agency. MGM was originally tipped to win the media account, as it is TBWA’s sister agency.
Hutchison 3G director of communications Lisa Tomkies says: “We believe MindShare has the right mixture of skill and experience for our needs in the next year.”
Hutchison 3G expects to launch a range of services, including videophones, video clips of football matches and music, stock market information and Internet access, later this year.
The company still lacks a permanent marketing director. Former orange marketer Lisa Gernon is variously described by a Hutchison spokesman as “acting marketing director” and a “marketing consultant”. He says there are “no plans” to formalise Gernon’s position or recruit anyone else for the role.
Hutchison recently signed a deal with the BBC, whereby the broadcaster will reformat its content for use on Hutchison’s 3G network. The company has also spent &£35m acquiring all mobile technology rights to Premier League football until July 2004.
Part-owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, Japanese mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo and Dutch telecoms company KPN, Hutchison 3G paid &£4.4bn for its 3G licence.
