MediaCom North steals £5m Co-op account away from Robson Brown

The Co-operative Group has moved its non-TV planning and buying business account worth about &£5m from Robson Brown to Manchester-based Mediacom North.

Starcom Motive, the incumbent on the &£7m TV buying account, has retained the buying and picked up media planning from MSc, the joint venture between Partners BDDH and New PHD. Partners BDDH hold the creative account.

The two co-operative societies, The Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) and Co-operative Retail Society (CRS) fused their marketing departments in 1999, completing a merger of the two co-operatives in April last year.

The CWS announced late last year it was to cut costs by &£30m following a 64 per cent slump in first half profits as a result of the merger. The CWS inherited CRS losses of more than &£25m.

The two societies were renamed the Co-operative Group with the aim of reflecting the wide range of business interests covered by the two.

The CWS hit the headlines last year when it announced it was making a submission to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) to call for a ban on advertising unhealthy food. The Co-op committed itself to a ban after producing a report into food and drinks with high sugar and fat content advertised during children’s viewing periods.