National Power hands TBWA £10m brief to establish npower brand

TBWA GGT Simons Palmer has been awarded the £10m-plus task of building National Power’s new domestic energy brand npower.

From an original list of 16, TBWA beat Grey Advertising in the final stages. Its below-the-line sister company GGT Direct will also work on the account, while media is tipped to go to affiliated agency Manning Gottlieb Media.

npower was created in October (MW October 7) to encompass electricity generator National Power’s expansion into the domestic gas and energy supply market through the acquisition of Calortex and Midlands Electricity.

In the long term, National Power plans to develop other home services in a strategy similar to British Gas parent Centrica, which recently bought the Automobile Association.

National Power’s first task is to establish npower as a national dual fuel supplier for industrial, commercial and residential customers, acquire new customers and retain the existing ones of Calortex and Midlands Electricity.

David Spring, the npower brand manager who managed the pitch with marketing director David Andrew, says: “We felt we could engage in a long-term partnership with TBWA. It has a strong track-record and good planning capability.”

Incumbent agencies used by Midlands Electricity, Cogent and the Square may still be awarded other projects.