HM Revenue puts 18m media into three agencies

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has consolidated its estimated 18m media planning arrangements into PHD, Zenith Optimedia and Naked.

All three agencies previously worked with HMRC, but PHD and Zenith were the only agencies to pitch as part of the consolidation process. MediaVest Manchester and Mediaedge:CIA, which were part of the HMRC’s planning roster, were not invited to pitch and are no longer working with the organisation. The pitch was overseen by COI Communications.

Naked will continue to handle media planning for Tax Credits and Child Trust Funds campaigns.

PHD will focus on communicating with small-to-medium enterprises regarding PAYE, corporation tax, VAT and the Construction Industry scheme. The agency will also target newly self-employed people with information about a helpline.

Zenith will be charged with raising awareness of issues including self-assessment, illegal meat and fuels, and smuggling, as well as alcohol strategy projects such as the UK Duty Stamps Scheme.

The Duty Stamps scheme will be used by the government to crack down on alcohol duty fraud (MW September 15). Spirits, wine and some home-made wines will need a stamp, which must be affixed to a product’s packaging before it can be released into the UK market. The rules come into force later this year. Cheetham Bell JWT was appointed to handle the 5m creative account at the end of last year.

Simon Vessey, head of marketing at HMRC, says: “The agencies were selected on the strength of their planning proposals to engage our target audience and influence behaviour.”