M&C Saatchi Appointed by UK Government

The Government Procurement Service (GPS) has appointed M&C Saatchi and Consolidated PR to its Cyber Security creative and publicity accounts respectively, following a competitive pitch under the Government’s new roster system against some of the best names in the industry.
 

Cyber crime costs the UK economy billions of pounds a year. M&C Saatchi and Consolidated PR have been briefed with planning, developing, and producing a high profile campaign to educate and sustain online behavioural change. Work will focus on awareness raising to enable people and small businesses to be more aware of cyber security and how to take simple steps to protect themselves.
 

M&C Saatchi has been appointed following a strong history of government campaigns, including Change4Life and its initiatives for the Olympic Delivery Authority, as well a breadth of experience in the digital world, for brands such as Google.
 

Tim Duffy, Chairman at M&C Saatchi, said: “Our country’s cyber security is becoming an ever more pressing concern, making it incredibly important to raise awareness of the issue, and the steps people can take to protect themselves online. We’re very much looking forward to working with the government to initiate and sustain widespread behaviour change in this area through a truly flexible and powerful creative campaign.”
 

Peter Wilson, Director at the National Fraud Authority & Action Fraud, added:
 “Cyber criminals are cunning and indiscriminate but our segmentation study shows, that with some simple changes, small businesses and individuals can protect themselves from financial and data loss online.  This campaign is unlike anything we have done before, M&C Saatchi and Consolidated PR provided an intelligent response to a complex brief.  Government, working with these agencies and industry,  can bring real world safety habits into the virtual world, keeping online experiences positive and crime-free.”

 
Nick Clark, Managing Director at Consolidated PR, said: “We’re looking forward to working on this fascinating social marketing brief. Online fraud is holding back growth in the UK. This is an important campaign for the UK economy – one that we believe will cut the cost of fraud to businesses and encourage people to transact securely and enjoy everyday online experiences."
 

M&C Saatchi and Consolidated PR will be working closely together with the Home Office, the Cabinet Office, Department for Business Innovation and Skills and Number 10 on their first high profile cyber security campaign, which is launching in October.