The Co-op reveals agency roster

The Co-operative Group has appointed TBWA Manchester as its lead agency of a 14-strong roster, following an extensive agency review.

Co-op

The roster mostly consists of regional agencies located in the North West, where The Co-op is based.

The agencies were selected based on a competitive pitch and their ethical credentials were taken into account. The roster will come into effect on 1 February.

The news follows the announcement that The Co-op is paring back its Group marketing function.

It also said that the restructure would mean a shift in emphasis away from brand marketing campaigns to more operational and commercial activity within each of the Co-op’s major businesses.

Last year, the Co-op, which has interests in food, funerals, travel, pharmacy, motors, financial services and legal services, launched “Good for Everyone” a £10m brand campaign, created by McCann Erickson, featuring Bob Dylan’s iconic song Blowin’ in the Wind.

Director of marketing Patrick Allen said: ” We are a major business based in the North west and as such I believe wherever possible we should support local companies.

“We have reduced the number of agencies being used across the Group which will have a positive impact on both brand consistency, service levels and costs.”

TBWA has worked with The Co-op since being appointed in 2008. The other agencies on the creative roster are Refinery, Delineo, Dinosaur and GHMC (Bristol).
Its direct marketing roster includes TDA LLP (Cheltenham) and Refinery.

The Chase will look after the Co-op’s brand identity and digital work will be handled by Amaze and Rapp (Edinburgh).

The Group’s artwork and production will be handled by APS, Papyrus, Fresh Create, Artwork Express.

The new roster follows a review launched last year across all its creative agencies.

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