BT hands £75m media account to Maxus

British Telecom has handed its £75m media planning and buying business to Maxus following after a competitive pitch. 

The agency won the account from incumbent media agency Vivaki, a Publicis Groupe umbrella of both Starcom and Zed Media and takes over on 1 April.

Publicis’s Vivaki first won the consolidated business at the start of 2008 after a final shoot out with Mediaedge:cia.

WPP’s Maxus claims BT will be its largest client from 1 April, with the account including all media planning and buying, excluding outdoor. It will work alongside Group M on the account.

BT recently revealed that its pre-tax profits for the first nine months of the financial year were down by 28% to £756m.

Matthew Dearden, BT’s marketing director, says: “We’re delighted to be working with Maxus and Group M for our media strategy, planning and buying. This appointment will help us make the most of our media investment to build positive relationships with current and potential customers.”

Lindsay Weedon, CEO, Maxus adds: “We are delighted to be working with BT, proactively managing media planning and buying for one of the country’s largest advertisers. Supported by GroupM, we look forward to collaborating with BT’s other marketing agencies to drive the communication strategy forward.”