Dairy Crest puts 1.5m account out to pitch

Dairy Crest, the dairy company whose brands include Cathedral City and Clover, is inviting agencies to pitch for its experiential, sales promotion and direct marketing business.

The account is believed to be worth £1.5m and a number of undisclosed agencies have been contacted. Intermediary Creative Brief is thought to be handling the pitch.

Sources close to the chilled dairy products company say it is a new area for them to be involved in and that the initial budget is likely to grow.

Grey London’s hold on the advertising business is not affected by the pitch.

Its brands include spreads Vitalite, Willow, Country Life and St Ivel, yoghurt drink Frijj as well as cheeses Davidstow Hartington and Over the Moon.

Previously, Dairy Crest has handled direct marketing on a project basis. In September last year it pitched a direct marketing brief for its St Ivel Omega 3 oil-enriched milk Advance.

Experiential activity has until now included Dairy Crest’s sponsorship of wing-walking display team, the “Utterly Butterlys”, named after its butter-like spread.

However, earlier this summer Dairy Crest announced it was to end the eight year sponsorship of the company behind the team, Aerosuperbatics (MW July 13).

Dairy Crest is believed to have paid a six-figure annual sum for the sponsorship deal. The campaign saw Utterly Butterly liveried aircraft and wing-walkers perform more than 100 aerial displays each year.

The Utterly Butterlys were also written into an episode of the primetime ITV1 soap opera, Emmerdale, earlier this year.