Barnardo’s appoints BBH to handle above-the-line account

Bartle Bogle Hegarty has been hired to handle above-the-line advertising for children’s charity Barnardo’s, bringing Ogilvy & Mather’s one-year tenure to a close.

Barnardo’s director of marketing and communication Andrew Nebel and head of advertising and communication John Grounds jointly decided on BBH after an informal pitch.

The charity began the process of brand repositioning last year, in an effort to shed its Victorian orphanage image. O&M used TV, radio, press, and direct mail, most recently in December. The campaign focused on the early years of a child’s life.

Grounds says Barnardo’s has struggled with an outdated public image. Contrary to popular view it has not run orphanages since the mid-Eighties but offers a wide range of services for needy children including child protection, fostering, adoption and help for homelessness.

“We need to encapsulate in simple, understandable terms what we do for the general public,” says Grounds.

“In the course of the past year we have put in place the fundamentals of brand development and repositioning. We are going towards a more modern image.”

Barnardo’s will review BBH’s contract after one year and says it is paying a “fair rate for a fair job” and expects the same quality of work as any other BBH client.

A spokeswoman for BBH says the above-the-line brief will include TV advertising.

“We will concentrate on building the brand and raising awareness within the children’s charity sector,” he says.