Scottish Widows to review £5m advertising account

Scottish Widows is reviewing its &£5.2m advertising account, held by Citigate Albert Frank. Citigate has recently finished filming for a campaign early next year

The review, which is being handled by the Haystack Group, is understood to cover branding work together with above- and below-the-line activity.

Scottish Widows, which is owned by Lloyds TSB, has been through significant management changes over the past year, including the appointment of Peter Jordan as marketing director in July.

Lloyds TSB group chief executive Eric Daniels, who took up his post in April this year, recently mooted the sale of Scottish Widows. Last month, he implemented a five-year plan to revamp the business and replaced longstanding Scottish Widows chief executive Mike Ross with Archie Kane.

This week, Scottish Widows has done a deal which will see its life insurance products being sold in Asda supermarkets, under the Asda brand.

Lloyds TSB bought Scottish Widows for &£7bn in 1999, with the intention of selling its savings products through the bank’s branch network. With a market share of 7.5 per cent, Scottish Widows lags behind market leaders Norwich Union and Standard Life, but its strong brand recognition, built through sustained advertising based around the “dark lady” character, has been seen as one of its strengths.

Last month, Lloyds TSB was forced to pay a fine and compensation totalling &£100m after the regulator found a Scottish Widows savings bond had been mis-sold.