Quorn holds pitch for media buying account
Incumbent agency Starcom will go up against Initiative and Carat to retain Quorn's media planning and buying business after the account was put out to pitch.
The news closely follows Quorn's acquisition by Exponent Private Equity for £205m in March. The new owners plan to invest more than £4m in TV alone in 2011.
The meat-free food brand's last campaign focused exclusively on television advertising when it ran in January.
Perhaps surprisingly given that the media work is now out to pitch, Quorn has championed that campaign as delivering "impressive sales results".
In a statement it said the TV push had reversed "a 2010 decline to a double-digit growth in the latest period".
Nevertheless, Starcom is now being challenged to prove its worth. Quorn marketing director Chris Wragg said: "As part of establishing the new company we are looking to ensure that we are getting the very best value and have the right partners for the long term.”
Wragg went on to add that the brand has big plans for this year.
He said: "Our aggressive plan for 2011 is transforming brand and category growth. Quorn is growing +10.6% in the latest period, well ahead of the category, on the back of strong innovation extending the Ready Meal range in January, and strong, effective TV support.
"With more breakthrough innovation to come in April and May as we launch the Quorn Fish style range and a TV led plan on air for 24 weeks in the year, we’re confident of driving brand and category growth even further."