Leith London rebrands as Farm after merger

The Leith London name will be dropped in favour of Farm Communications following the merger of the two agencies. The change is expected to take place when the agencies move into the same building later this year.

The rebrand marks the end of the Leith name outside of Scotland after six years of having a presence in London. Insiders say that Leith has struggled as a two-location agency, with the London branch increasingly seen as a subsidiary of the Edinburgh office.

It is believed that discussions over use of the Farm name formed a key part of talks with Leith’s parent company, Cello Group, which acquired Farm in June. Cello is planning to integrate the agencies to offer a broader range of marketing services, such as digital, brand experience and new media.

Farm’s clients include smile.co.uk, Sacla, Visit England and it is on the COI roster, while Leith London works on Goodfellas, Silent Night and Merlin Entertainment’s Dungeons division.

Cello launched in May 2004 with the acquisition of Leith Advertising, Navigator Response Advertising and Target Direct. The group listed on AIM in November that year.

In February Leith London lost the &£7m account for Coors-owned beer brand Carling to Beattie McGuiness Bungay after a pitch (MW February 23). The London agency was invited to repitch but responsibility for the review was handed to Leith’s Edinburgh office, which holds accounts for several other Coors-owned brands, including Grolsch.

Cello chief executive Mark Scott declined to comment on the rebrand.