Tuesday, March 07, 2006

M&C Saatchi in luxury brand venture

M&C Saatchi is launching a premier brands unit called Provenance to lure luxury goods makers, many of whom create their advertising campaigns in-house.

The subsidiary has been set up to assist luxury brands deal with the growing complexity of their marketing strategies. Big spenders from Russia and China are becoming just as important to luxury brands as their more traditional counterparts in the UK and US.

Some ad agencies have poured scorn on the marketing efforts of premier brands, saying they use too many clichéd images and lack the "big ideas" to make campaigns successful.

Jane Boardman, Provenance chairman, said: "As the sector grows they will have to look outside for professional help. They want better quality people working with them and people who can do everything." Boardman added that Provenance would not be assigning a full-time creative executive to the project in order to underline its "supportive" role.