Barclays drops Saatchi in global advertising review

Saatchi & Saatchi has lost the £20m global advertising business for Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Group. The division has already called a review.

It is understood that Barcap is unhappy with the agency, which only won the business in February last year (MW February 7, 2007). It is thought that Rick Andrews, head of marketing Barclays Global Investors’ flagship product iShares, is overseeing the review, which is being handled by Oyster Catchers.

Saatchi & Saatchi was appointed to create a global brand-building campaign for Barcap, which is headed by Barclays chairman Bob Diamond.

Robert Senior, chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi, says: “We want to build strategic partnerships with our clients based around the creative output. Unfortunately, in this case, there was not a shared agenda.”

It is thought that roster agencies for Barclays Banking and Investment Management will be invited to pitch. These include Leo Burnett, which handles its iShares business, Ogilvy Group, which handles its wealth management business and McCann Erickson, which has recently been added to the roster.

Leo Burnett Group won the pan-European advertising business for iShares, worth £20m, 18 months ago (MW November 15, 2006).

Ogilvy Group UK gained a place on the Barclays roster when its Dialogue Marketing Group was appointed to handle wealth management (MW June 1, 2006). The business has since moved to Ogilvy conflict shop Mather Communications.

Barcap, headquartered in London, has a balance sheet of over £1.2tr and provides financing and risk management services to large companies, institutions and government clients.

It sits within Barclays’ Investment Banking and Investment Management group, and also houses Barclays Global Investors and Barclays Wealth.