Ad agencies on alert for bogus Rowntree’s pitch
Ad agencies in Scotland are being warned to be on the lookout for a time-wasting scam currently being perpetrated across the North West by an individual who claims to be working for confectionery giant Rowntree's.
The individual, going under the name of Louise, is believed to have contacted a number of prominent agencies based in and around Manchester and asked to speak to the customer/client services manager.
“Louise” then explains that Rowntree's is unhappy with its main agency, which she wrongly claims to be McCann-Erickson Manchester, and that a raft of work will imminently be put out to pitch. Once she has confirmed that the agency is interested, Louise then tells the unfortunate individual to await a phone call from “Lee Jones”, a marketing director at Rowntree's. The phone call never transpires, causing agencies to eventually besiege the firm's marketing department with calls of their own. All the parties involved, both on the agency and client side, have been left bemused, baffled and angry about the apparent time-wasting prank.
One agency head said: “I think we were about the seventh or eighth one to phone the marketing department that day. It's a completely stupid wild goose chase and a waste of everyone's time. I mean, why would someone do this? They must have a grudge against agencies in general or, more specifically, with the marketing department at Rowntree's.”
A spokesman at Rowntree's stated that the person was not from Rowntree's, adding: “we can't think of anyone who will get a benefit out of doing this. It doesn't make any sense.”