LONDON: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair may have called the UK media a "feral beast", but that didn't stop Labour and the Conservatives hawking their wares to all and sundry during the conference season.
Both have now appointed new media agencies despite the decision by prime minister Gordon Brown (pictured) not to call an early general election.
Labour has selected WPP Group's MindShare for media duties, having handed creative chores to Saatchi & Saatchi - owned by Publicis Groupe - last month.
The Conservatives, headed by David Cameron, have appointed Omnicom Group's PHD to handle media buying, with Goodstuff (also partly-owned by Omnicom) taking charge of communications planning.
Goodstuff partner Andrew Stephens said the Tories' campaign will focus more on digital communications, in an effort to reflect "a communications world that has changed significantly since the last election in 2005".
The UK's third party, the Liberal Democrats, has also reportedly begun searching for a new digital agency prior to an election, but it appears to have plenty of time to make its choice.
Data sourced from Brand Republic (UK); additional content by WARC staff
