Virgin Mobile Canada has put its advertising account into review and may change the way its works with its creative agencies in Canada.
Approximately five unnamed Canadian and American ad agencies are being considered, said Andrew Bridge, Virgin’s director of brand and communications.
Virgin has been with Toronto agency Zig exclusively since 2006, but Bridge said Virgin is now considering stepping away from the retainer model it has been using. Instead, Bridge may choose what he calls a “creative collective” or pool of agencies, handing out assignments as he sees fit.
“We’re looking at different ways to deliver great creative work with our other partners,” Bridge said. “The ideas don’t have to come from the [ad] agency. They can come from the media side, the PR or events side… In this current climate of change, we need to react quickly. We want to have multiple shops that can help us meet multiple creative and business challenges.”
If such a model is used, Zig could again be used in the future, though the agency is not taking part in the review.
“If there’s something we think they’d be great at tackling, we wouldn’t be afraid to ask for their help,” Bridge said.
Zig is currently working on Virgin’s spring and summer campaign.
No one from the agency could be reached for comment by press time.
There is no formal time line for the review, but a final decision is expected prior to the summer back-to-school season.
According to The Nielsen Company’s more recent figures, Virgin spent more than $7.3 million on measured media in 2007.
