Meerkat appointed to £7m Holsten UK brief
Holsten UK has appointed below-the-line agency Meerkat to handle its £7m direct marketing account following a pitch.
The lager brewer has previously worked with Black Cat on its below-the-line advertising account. It is not known whether Black Cat pitched for the business.
Meerkat is run by former First Quench marketing director Paul Vines.
Holsten marketing director Andrew Edge plans to spend the bulk of his advertising and marketing budget on below-the-line activities rather than on television advertising. TBWA/London handles the creative account for Holsten UK (MW June 29, 2000).
In the past, TBWA’s ads for Holsten Pils have used actors such as Griff Rhys Jones and Denis Leary.
Last year the company launched Holsten Fusion, a fruit-flavoured beer, claiming that it was the nation’s first “alcopop lager” (MW March 7, 2002). The launch targeted 18-to 27-year-olds. The move followed the company’s announcement that it would no longer use sponsorship as part of its brand strategy, after the end of its £2m tie-up with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
Holsten has tried to diversify into the connoisseur’s beer market with the launch of Duckstein, a specialist beer sold through off-licences.
Holsten UK is a subsidiary of one of Germany’s largest breweries, Holsten-Brauerei.
