Everything Everywhere consolidates media into GroupM

Everything Everywhere, the company that houses T-Mobile and Orange in the UK, has consolidated its media buying business into GroupM.

/t/y/d/orangetmobile160.jpg

The company says the deal means its core media buying for both brands now runs under a single group contract.

GroupM is the parent company to the brand’s media agencies MEC and MediaCom. Both will continue to handle the media buying for Orange and T-Mobile respectively.

Everything Everywhere says the group contract enables it to “build one core team from both MEC and MediaCom, improve efficiencies and leverage the unparalleled buying power of the largest communications company in the UK.”

In addition MediaCom will now handle T-Mobile’s digital media buying, bringing all media buying into the one group for the first time.

The move comes as the Everything Everywhere finalises plans to axe 11 posts from its joint brand team as it makes 1200 redundancies to enable a “total focus on customer experience excellence with dedicated marketing teams for both consumer brands.”

In the new structure, the brand teams from Orange and T Mobile will be brought together in one unit to oversee the parent brand Everything Everywhere as well as Orange and T-Mobile.

The unit has responsibility for sponsorship, advertising, direct response communications, digital and other marketing disciplines.
Guillaume van Gaver, vice president of marketing, heads marketing for both brands. Mark Duncan will be vice president of sales & loyalty, Steven Day, will be vice president of brands and communications and Andrew Ralston will be chief commercial officer.

In addition the company has appointed Orange UK’s pay monthly marketing director Neil MacGeorge to become vice president of products and Orange’s director of marketing performance Stephen Harris will take the role of chief of staff to CEO Tom Alexander. Lysa Hardy, head of brand and communications at T-Mobile UK, will become vice president of T-Mobile Propositions.

In July the company announced that Orange UK communications director Stuart Jackson was taking on the role of brand communications director for Everything Everywhere. While Orange UK brand director Spencer McHugh was announced as Everything Everywhere’s brand marketing director.

Everything Everywhere recently unveiled a £4m ad campaign promoting it’s joint network offerings, with the new company name featuring on ads for the first time.

Though the Orange and T-Mobile are running separate ad campaigns for now, their combined 27m customers are now be able to access either brands’ network.

T-Mobile’s advertising agency is Saatchi & Saatchi and Orange’s agency is Fallon, both of whom are part of Publicis Groupe.

This story first appeared on Pitch, Centaur’s subscription-based online interactive marketplace for agencies and clients to share news, opinion and debate.