MindShare tipped to win £42m Argos Retail brief
Argos Retail Group (ARG) is tipped to hand its media and planning accounts for the Argos and Homebase brands, worth a combined total of &£42m, to MindShare following a four-way pitch (MW May 15).
MindShare, which is incumbent on the &£21.4m Argos account, pitched against PHD – incumbent on Homebase’s &£21m account – Carat and MediaCom.
It is known that Carat and MediaCom are no longer involved in the pitch.
ARG called the review to achieve cost savings following holding company GUS’s acquisition of Homebase in a &£900m deal last November (MW March 27). At the time of the acquisition, a GUS spokesman said the deal would result in combined annual cost savings of &£20m during the next three years.
The review is one of the last tasks for Homebase head of brand marketing Andrea Preducov, who is leaving the company later this year (MW May 1). It was also overseen by Paul Geddes, marketing director for Argos.
Preducov oversaw a review of Homebase’s advertising account last year, prior to the DIY retailer’s acquisition by GUS. Lowe was added to the roster alongside incumbent Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO.
It was expected that Lowe would produce a campaign for Homebase, but this has yet to materialise and AMV has continued to create executions for its long-running campaign featuring Men Behaving Badly stars Neil Morrissey and Leslie Ash.
