Tetley Tea puts ad account out to pitch but incumbent Dare declines to take part
The Tetley Tea advertising account is up for grabs after the brand separated from its incumbent agency Dare, The Drum can reveal.
Dare inherited the Tetley account in 2010 when it merged with MCBD, and although it was invited to repitch for the business it declined on the grounds that "the time is right for us to part ways".
Tetley has briefed Oystercatchers to run the pitch and the intermediary will begin initial 'chemistry sessions' with six agencies next week.
From there, three agencies will be shortlisted to pitch during the week of 10 June.
According to figures from Brad Insight, Tetley spent £8.5m marketing its tea range during 2012 as it embarked on a major brand repositioning campaign.
The bulk of this spend, £5.75m, went on television advertising, while almost £2m was spent on radio advertising, £800,000 on press advertising and just over £40,000 on outdoor.
Dare's managing director, Toby Horry, told The Drum: "Working with Tetley has been a really enjoyable experience but we feel the time is right for us to part ways. We wish them every success in the future."
Tetley's key marketing figures could not be reached at the time of writing.