Punjana picks Big to front £1m UK launch

Tea brand Punjana has appointed Big Communication to handle its £1m advertising account ahead of its launch on the UK mainland.

Tea brand Punjana has appointed Big Communication to handle its &£1m advertising account ahead of its launch on the UK mainland.

The Leicester-based agency will also handle the marketing and advertising for the Thompson Family Teas-owned brand in its native Northern Ireland and Scotland, where the brand also has a strong presence.

Big has been appointed to the business without a pitch and it is the first agency with a brief to promote the brand outside its core markets of Northern Ireland and Scotland. Punjana’s last agency of record is Fresh, which won the account from Doner Cardwell Hawkins in 2001, and was the first agency to put it on television.

The brand, which has a history of investing in promotions, is a household name in Northern Ireland through its “Pick Punjana tea” jingle. It has also been a sponsor of the Scottish and Grampian TV weather reports.

Big has been tasked with helping the brand, which is positioned against PG Tips and Tetley, increase its market share and take-up by multiple grocers. A campaign will break in its established markets early next year.

Punjana is understood to favour a late 2006 launch in England.