Nokia to consolidate its agency roster with ad business review

Nokia is reviewing its £175m global advertising business in a bid to consolidate its roster of agencies.

The Finnish mobile handset manufacturer kicked off a review of its global below-the-line roster earlier this month but it has emerged that a full-scale review of its above-the-line arrangements will follow next month.

Grey London holds the bulk of Nokia’s pan-European advertising account, working across three of the company’s four divisions: mobile phones, enterprise solutions and networks. Interpublic Group, led by Lowe Worldwide, is also on Nokia’s roster, having been appointed to handle the advertising for its multimedia division two years ago. It is not clear if Lowe’s business will be reviewed as part of the pitch.

Grey is expected to be involved in the pitch and the agency remains the incumbent on the enterprise solutions division, which is not thought to be part of the pitch.

Nokia is understood to work with Bates in Asia, while its below-the-line roster includes OgilvyOne, Joshua and Haygarth. MediaCom handles the company’s media planning and buying and is not thought to be affected by the latest review.

No one at Nokia or Grey was available for comment.