Iris in line for Rapp Barclays business

Barclays is set to hand roster agency Iris a slice of new business following the decision to pull its £10m account out of Omnicom-owned agency Rapp.
The move will no doubt bring a touch of festive cheer to Iris’ new South Korean owner, Cheil Worldwide, which took what was described as a “significant initial investment” in the business last month.
Rapp has had an on/off relationship with the bank for nearly a decade, having broken up and got back together more times than Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
In 2006, Rapp (then called WWAV Rapp Collins) beat off nearly 30 agencies to land the bank’s account, which it shared with Havas EHS. In 2010, however, it lost the majority of this work to EHS but then got its own back in 2012, grabbing most of it back. Ironically, the agency scooped four golds at this month’s DMA Awards for the client.
Barclays has worked with Iris since 2009, when it appointed the agency to handle Barclaycard activity; its most recent work of note was the Father’s Day #DadChant activity during this summer’s World Cup. While not all the business has been allocated, industry sources say Iris is likely to benefit from the move.
A Barclays spokesman insisted no decision had been made to appoint a new agency; no-one was available for comment at Iris.
When it was reported that Rapp had been served notice, a spokesman for Barclays said: “Like all companies, we review our agencies from time to time and make changes. We never comment on any particular agency and no wider conclusions should be drawn.”
Barclays others agencies – BBH handles the ad account, Dare the digital brief and Maxus the media business – are unaffected by the move.