£100m pro-Brexit ad blitz 'could be huge for DM firms'

The direct marketing industry is licking its lips at the prospect of a massive Government-funded ad campaign – worth an estimated £100m in spend – designed to ram home the message that a no-deal Brexit will be not be the out and out disaster many are predicting.
The offensive, according to “sources close to situation” who have blabbed to the Telegraph, is set to be the biggest ever peacetime ad blitz, dominated by outdoor, TV and radio activity.
However, it seems inconceivable that digital channels will not be embraced or that direct mail and door-drop activity will be shunned.
Citing a Treasury source, The Telegraph said up £100m could be spent in the next three months alone, a major slice of the £1bn allocated by new Chancellor Sajid Javid to the UK’s no-deal preparations.
The insider told the paper: “I can’t imagine there has been a bigger comms campaign than this since the War. It is a pretty huge thing for a ‘comms’ campaign.”
The CBI has already called for a major campaign to raise awareness among small businesses over how they should prepare for a no deal scenario. But this campaign – if it goes ahead – would be on a much bigger scale.
One industry source said: “The irony won’t be lost on many in direct marketing. No deal will be disastrous for thousands of firms, especially those businesses which transfer data to and from the EU.
“However, this campaign could be huge for the data-driven marketing industry, if the Government chooses digital and direct mail as key channels. It could also provide a real shot in the arm for Royal Mail.”
Even so, Lib Dem MP Sir Ed Davey has already branded the campaign “Boris Bluster”, insisting that the activity cannot prepare for “the negotiations after you’ve left.”
He told LBC there was “no such thing as no-deal”, adding that a deal would have to be done at some stage, but the UK would be in a weaker position having made a deal after leaving the EU.