Scottish Power ditches The Bridge

Edinburgh-based agency Newhaven has won the &£4.5m advertising business for gas and electricity provider Scottish Power.

Newhaven picked up the task in a pitch against incumbent The Bridge, The Leith Agency and Leagas Delaney. The pitch was conducted through the agency intermediary business Creative Briefs.

Glasgow-based agency The Bridge had worked on Scottish Power’s advertising account since 2001. The utility provider’s procurement department prompted the review after The Bridge’s contract term expired (MW April 20).

Scottish Power was attacked this week over nearly &£11m worth of severance payments to four directors who lost their jobs. Former chief executive Ian Russell and three colleagues received &£10.9m for pay and pension compensation. Representatives of the Scottish National Party branded the payouts, revealed in the company’s annual report, “obscene”.

Scottish Power revealed &£675m in profit before tax in the year to March 2006.

In March, the utility company raised gas prices by 15% and electricity prices by 8%, warning that bills would rise again due to escalating wholesale costs. Last October the company announced it was cutting 450 jobs across the UK, including 70 posts in sales and marketing (MW October 13, 2005).

Newhaven’s client list includes Tennent’s Lager and the Scottish Executive. The agency rolls out a new campaign for Tennent’s lager next month to promote its tie-up with Scottish music festival T in the Park. The “fresh as a daisy” outdoor campaign will be rolled out on poster sites, lorry sides and at T In The Park, which is to be held at Balado in Kinross on July 8 and 9.