BBC Prepares Advertising Push Ahead Of Charter Renewal

The BBC has announced that it will create a new corporation-wide marketing campaign for 2005 in an effort to boost its popularity in the run up to charter renewal.

The BBC has created hugely successful promotional films in the past, one of the most memorable being the award-winning Perfect Day promotion, which premiered in 1997.

The Corporation has announced that creative agency Fallon had beaten rivals AMV BBDO, BBC Broadcast and DFGW in a four-way competitive pitch to create the new campaign, in collaboration with BBC Marketing, Communications & Audiences.

Commenting on the new charm offensive designed to garner support for the Corporation’s public service broadcasting output Helen Kellie, the BBC’s acting Head Of Marketing said: “Serving our audiences is central to everything that the BBC does. This campaign will continue the work that has already been done to engage our audience – in this ever changing landscape – in what the BBC stands for and the unique purpose that we serve.”

The move follows research unveiled by the Department for Culture Media and Sport which revealed that, while the Corporation is still held in high esteem amongst the general public, two thirds of those questioned would support the licence fee being dropped. The findings also demonstrated an opinion amongst listeners and viewers that the quality of the Corporations programmes has declined in quality (see Government Reveals Public Opinion On BBC).

Earlier this year media regulator Ofcom published its review of public service broadcasting in the UK, painting a damning picture of the content currently offered by terrestrial broadcasters and making a number of recommendations for urgent remedies to the situation. The watchdog’s findings concluded that the BBC was becoming increasingly competitive in both its approach to programming and its aggressive scheduling tactics (see Ofcom Paints Bleak Picture Of Public Service Broadcasting).

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk

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