Eurostar appoints Vizeum to £4m European business

Train operator Eurostar has appointed Vizeum to handle its &£4.4m pan-European media planning and buying business.

The agency beat off competition from Mediaedge:CIA and the incumbent, Manning Gottlieb OMD, among others to land the three-year account, which is expected to double in size after 2007.

The pitch was handled by the consultancy Billetts and overseen by Eurostar head of brand, product and UK marketing Greg Nugent.

Vizeum will take over the contract fully on January 1 next year, but will begin working on detailed media planning before that.

The agency will work with Eurostar’s creative account holders, TBWA, on campaigns based around the service’s move to St Pancras station in 2007.

The switch from Waterloo will cut journey times to Paris to two-and-a-quarter hours and to under two hours to Brussels.

Eurostar launched its first television ads for three years earlier this month. The campaign contrasts the Eurostar service with that offered by airlines.

In May it unveiled a new strapline: “You carry your journey with you⦠so make it Eurostar”, and a slightly altered logo.

The company has revealed that it is set to double its ad spend once the move to St Pancras has been completed (MW May 26).