Futurebrand loses place on COIs 5m agency list
Central Office of Information has dropped Futurebrand, Dragon and Brandsmiths after a review of its £5m marketing, brand and strategy roster.
Interbrand, RKCR/Y&R and Dave are among the new agencies added to the list of 54 approved to compete for government and public sector contracts.
Twenty-two agencies have lost their place on the roster in the first shake-up since 2005, which was sparked by a new European Directive governing government procurement processes.
McCann Erickson, CHI & Partners and Circus are among the 20 agencies that have held on to their places on the roster, which has been slimmed down in total by ten places.
The agencies have been split into lots, which means they will be eligible to pitch for contracts according to their specific expertise, spread across seven broad categories including marketing communications and branding. The agencies are then grouped within sub-categories including social marketing strategy development and innovation.
COI is one of the biggest spenders on advertising in the UK. Sean Larkins (pictured), COI deputy director of strategic consulting, says the “best” have been appointed to “help solve some of the UK’s most complex communications challenges” and deliver “significant returns on investment” for COI clients.
Futurebrand’s loss will be another blow to the agency, which axed its senior management team earlier this month, including managing director Jasmine Montgomery, managing creative director Tina Prior and head of strategy Piers Guilar (MW March 18).
The full marketing brand and strategy roster, including PR agencies, now reads: What If! Innovation, 23 Red, 8hwe Ltd, Antennae, Bang Communications, Barkers Scotland, BD Network, Bell Pottinger, Berkshire Consultancy, Blue Rubicon, Bright Europe, Burston-Marsteller, CHI & Partners, Circus, Corporate Culture, Corporate Value Associates, Dave, Dialogue by Design, Dig For Fire, Digital Public, Diva Creative, Dr Foster Intelligence, Experience Communications, Fishburn Hedges, Fuel, Futerra Sustainability Comms, Grant Thornton, Henley Centre Headlight Vision, Interbrand, Leo Burnett, Livity, Lloyd Northover, McCann Erickson, Mediaedge:cia, Naked Comms, Omobono, Oxford Strategic Consulting, Oxygen Brand Consulting, Partners Andrews Aldridge, Promise, Quadrant Consultants, RKCR/Y&R, Smith & Milton, Talk PR/Audience, TBWA Manchester, The Boston Consulting Group, The Brand Union, The Hub, The Team, Trajectory, UffindelWest, Uscreates.