Standard life moves from Leith to Saatchi & Saatchi as marketing jobs go
Standard Life has moved its above-the-line advertising account from The Leith Agency to London’s Saatchi & Saatchi, The Drum understands.
According to Richard Marsham, managing partner of The Leith Agency, the move to relocate the company’s above-the-line account does not end its relationship with Standard Life, with the agency continuing to work on its direct mail in the future.
Marsham also said that he has begun speaking to financial clients in a move to offset the loss of the Standard Life account.
The withdrawal of the account will come as a blow to The Leith Agency, which declined to pitch for rival financial clients Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and Aegon, which all reviewed over the last 18 months.
Elsewhere, Standard Life also confirmed that a number of its Edinburgh-based marketing team will be affected as it looks to redeploy its resources.
The move will affect several working in the marketing division of its protection business.
However, a spokesperson for the company said that it would look to redeploy those affected to other currently vacant marketing roles.
Meanwhile, Standard Life will make up to 15 design roles in Edinburgh redundant over the next 18-24 months. These roles will be serviced by the company’s new ‘global centre of excellence’ studio based in Canada.
The spokesperson for Standard Life confirmed that, as a result of the decision to move the roles to the new studio, based in Montreal, redundancies could be made over the next two years.
The spokesperson explained the move: “This gives the company the opportunity to work together more efficiently across its global operations, and will allow Standard Life to focus its future investment.
“We will take time to plan the transition of work and will ensure that during this transition period, the people who are directly impacted are well supported.”