Royal Mail Millionaire tie-up

Royal Mail is poised to sign a deal with TV production company Celador to use its Who Wants to be A Millionaire? for a Christmas promotion that will offer a top prize of &£1m.

The promotion follows last year’s tie-up with the Lord of the Rings movie sequel The Two Towers, when customers were given a game card and invited to “find the ring” after buying stamps.

In this year’s promotion, customers will be given a scratch card when they buy a book of 12 first-class stamps, instantly finding out whether they have the chance to win one of a number of cash prizes, including the &£1m top prize.

To secure the prize, customers will have to answer a multiple choice general knowledge question correctly.

Paul Troy, Royal Mail’s head of marketing, says that the promotion, devised by Omnicom agency Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, will be supported with a “significant” media spend.

He adds: “It fits in with what we’re trying to do in terms of giving customers something to engage with. The challenge now is to find a big idea for the next year.”

Last month, Troy placed Royal Mail’s advertising, branding and direct marketing business into a consortium of agencies owned by the Omnicom Group, including Abbott Mead Vickers. BBDO, Proximity London and Wolff Olins (MW May 15).

A new integrated campaign is expected to be unveiled by Royal Mail in the autumn.