Allergan plans to overhaul its brand and corporate image

Allergan, the manufacturer of anti-aging treatment Botox and contact lens products, is understood to be planning a “major” overhaul of its brands and corporate image.

The drive is expected following the appointment of McCann Erickson to its multimillion pound advertising account. Prior to the three-way pitch, involving McCann and two undisclosed agencies, Grey handled the business across Europe.

It is not known how much the account is worth, but it is thought to be worth “considerably” more than the £8m pan-European budget Grey managed when it won the business in 1998, due to the success of Botox. The advertising at the time centred around Allergan’s contact lens solutions.

The company will continue to focus on its business-to-business activity, though it is thought it wants to refresh its corporate communications and marketing.

According to research company Mintel, the UK cosmetic surgery market is worth over £900m, and is set to break £1bn next year. Mintel puts this down to the “huge rise” in non-surgical procedures, such as Botox. In 2005, there were 230,000 such treatments carried out, compared with 472,000 today.

California-based Allergan, is a technology-driven, global healthcare company specialising in eye-care and speciality pharmaceutical products. It was founded in 1950 and now has sales of more than $2bn (£1bn).

The agency was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

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