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Business on the Move Agencies

From Lloyds to Hargreaves Lansdown, finance brands are updating their media accounts

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By Sam Bradley, Senior Reporter

October 8, 2021 | 4 min read

In this new column, we explore the major account wins and review announcements of the week. This week, banks and personal finance brands look to refresh their agency partnerships as the account consolidation trend continues.

hargreaves lansdown

Several finance brands have chosen to review their media accounts lately

Bristol-based investment company Hargreaves Lansdown picked Hearts & Science as its media agency partner this week, following a competitive pitch. It’s the first of many finance and banking brand media reviews to conclude, with reviews at Santander and Lloyds also under way.

The FTSE 100 finance firm said Hearts & Science, whose other clients include comparison site GoCompare, Amazon-owned audiobook brand Audible and electronics firm Sega, were the “clear choice.“

Simon Coomes, head of marketing and commercial performance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The team at Hearts & Science impressed us with their insights into the audiences and clients for our service, as well as their understanding of what we want to accomplish with our media spend.”

The agency, originally founded by Omnicom to serve Procter & Gamble’s media needs, says it plans to “rethink“ and “reinvent“ personal finance marketing in the UK.

Banking brands on the move

Hearts & Science’s win concludes just one of a string of recent agency reviews at banking and finance brands. Lloyds Banking Group, another major banking institution, called a media review for its consumer brands Halifax and Scottish Widows. And Spanish banking giant Santander also began a review of its media buying and planning this week, with a view to consolidating its business with a single European agency.

The UK incumbent, Carat, has been the bank’s media partner since 2008, though Santander’s media in its home market of Spain, as well as Portugal, is handled by Havas-owned Arena. Santander also operates in Poland.

Santander is not the only brand looking to refresh its media account – British retailer John Lewis announced it was reviewing its media buying and planning after over 10 years with MG OMD. The review is being run by Oystercatchers and will conclude in the new year, and will put the business for John Lewis, Waitrose and John Lewis Financial Services’ entire media spend up for grabs. Its creative business, held by Adam&EveDDB, is staying put.

The Santander review also marked another example of the recent trend toward account consolidation; last week German pharmaceutical giant Bayer named MediaCom its global full-service media agency, adding China and Russia to the agency’s remit. And back in September, Daimler chose to consolidate its media account with Omnicom.

Moves you might have missed

  • The Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 tournament has appointed a clutch of agencies to support its marketing communications next year. M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, MATTA, Threepipe Reply, Two Circles and Heart Productions have all been hired to help deliver the competition.

  • Outlet shopping company McArthurGlen is holding a creative review; its current agency partner VCCP has chosen not to pitch.

  • Takeaway titan Just Eat has hired UM as its media partner after a two-way competitive pitch against Dentsu International.

  • Footy brand Copa90 has hired sports PR agency MatchFit as its strategic PR partner ahead of 2022, when the World Cup is due to take place in Qatar.

Got a review or account to tell us about? Email businessonthemove@thedrum.com.

Business on the Move Agencies

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