Colling and Arena scoop Royal Mail

Royal Mail has pulled its media account out of UM London and split it between Arena Media and Mike Colling & Company (MC&C) following a competitive pitch.
The review of the estimated £8m account kicked off in February and has been led by Royal Mail’s director of customer marketing, Ben Rhodes, with support from ISBA.
UM London has handled the account since 2012, following the division of the Royal Mail and Post Office business. Mindshare took over the Post Office’s activity. Both accounts had been held by OMD UK.
Arena Media has been appointed to deliver improved ROI for Royal Mail Group services, focusing on responsive, real-time marketing for Royal Mail Group, including Parcelforce Worldwide, parcels, stamps and collectibles and its data and online marketing services.
The agency will handle planning and buying across traditional, social and digital platforms.
MC&C will deliver media planning and buying for MarketReach, the business division behind the recent Mailmen campaign credited with reviving the direct mail market.
Both agencies have been tasked with enhancing Royal Mail’s connection with its business customers across retail and professional services, and to raise its profile with SMEs.
MarketReach managing director Jonathan Harman (pictured) said the division has been working with MC&C for a couple of years and “they’ve been brilliant”.
He added: “This track record of delivery, coupled with their highly commercial approach to delivering growth, made them the natural choice to take our media activities to the next level. We are very grateful to UM, and to their managing partner Tony Matson in particular, for their efforts on our behalf.”
Mike Colling said: “Royal Mail is the third largest media owner in the UK after Google and ITV, and is now growing again after many years of decline.
“We have been part of the team that has created the strategic framework that laid the foundations for that growth and are delighted to continue our work with Royal Mail. To create growth for a £1bn media owner after years of decline; is there a better brief for our growth agency?”
The review does not affect Beta, which handles creative services, or Publicis Chemistry, which runs the direct marketing account, including advertising, design and sales promotion.