DDB London wins 5m pitch for FT account

DDB London has scooped the £5m advertising account for the Financial Times after a three-way pitch against Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy and United London.

The agency will handle the business across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The agency has been briefed to create a campaign that will promote the Pearson-owned FT newspaper and FT.com to a “globally-minded audience of senior-level decision-makers”.

The new campaign is due to break next spring.

The account was previously handled by Delaney Lund Knox Warren, which had handled it for 15 years.

The agency pulled out of the pitch at an earlier stage, because it believed Pearson acted badly by calling a review after deciding to relaunch the paper (MW June 22).

FT chief executive John Ridding says that the paper is looking forward to working with its new agency to “create a campaign that builds on our position as the leading source of global business news and analysis in print and online”.

DDB European chief executive Michael Bray says that the agency “can’t wait to create a memorable campaign that reflects the sophistication, wit and editorial muscle-power of the FT”.

The pitch, which was called in May, was overseen by EMEA marketing director Frances Brindle and does not affect the paper’s media agency BKJ&E.

The Financial Times is printed in 23 cities across the world and has a daily circulation of 439, 871 and a readership of 1.4m people worldwide.