Halifax, formerly known as Halifax Building Society, has handed its advertising account to an agency set up just two weeks ago.
The bank has ended its nine-year relationship with Adam & Eve/DDB and has appointed New Commercial Arts.
The news follows a competitive pitch for a customer experience brief in a process run by Alchemists, and will see New Commercial Arts working on brand strategy, advertising and customer experience.
Adam & Eve had won the Halifax business – which is named after Halifax in West Yorkshire, where it was founded as a building society in 1853 – in 2011.
New Commercial Arts is the new venture for James Murphy and David Golding, who co-founded Adam&Eve/DDB with Ben Priest and Jon Forsyth before selling it to Omnicom in 2013 for £100million.
Murphy and Golding originally worked on the Halifax business while at Rainey Kelly Y&R, then won it for adam&eve in 2011.
Murphy, CEO of New Commercial Arts, said: “We couldn’t wish for a more exciting opportunity. Halifax is a big and important brand, the client has a powerful mandate to unify brand strategy and customer experience and real creative ambition. It’s a strong endorsement for the model we are building.”
Catherine Kehoe, chief customer officer at Halifax, said: “The most successful modern brands are defined by an alchemy between strategy, experience and communications. New Commercial Arts has been set up with this philosophy at its heart. We are delighted to be their founding client.”
