M&C arm wins 4m Vodafone dm slice

Lida, the direct marketing agency owned by M&C Saatchi, has been appointed to handle Vodafone UK’s 4m consumer direct marketing account.

Lida, the direct marketing agency owned by M&C Saatchi, has been appointed to handle Vodafone UK’s £4m consumer direct marketing account.

The business moves from Harrison Troughton Wunderman (HTW), which has worked with Vodafone for six years but did not repitch for the account. It is thought that Lida beat Partners Andrews Aldridge (PAA), which handles Vodafone’s business-to-business account, Tequila and Joshua to win the consumer task.

Vodafone called the review in January after announcing it was parting company with HTW. The pitch was overseen by head of brand and marketing communications Dominic Chambers, who confirms Lida’s appointment and says: "We believe we can further bring alive our brand creative in below-the-line activity, building greater loyalty with our customer base."

HTW won Vodafone’s consumer account in 2000, when it was still known as HPT Brand Response. It won the £4m business-to-business account in 2002 but lost it to Partners Andrews Aldridge in 2005 (MW June 23, 2005).

The appointment of Lida is the latest in a series of changes to Vodafone UK’s roster recently. The mobile giant moved its £47m UK advertising account from JWT into its global lead creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty at the end of last year.

It also appointed its first retained digital agency last year when Dare won a pitch against Modem Media and Agency.com. Last month, it reappointed Kinetic to handle its £19m outdoor account following a review.

It emerged earlier this month that PAA creative director Shaun Moran, who has worked on Vodafone’s business-to-business account, is moving to Lida.