BIZOnline - Insurance job for Norwich agency

BIZOnline - Insurance job for Norwich agency: Insurance job for Norwich agency
06 December 2007

ADAM AIKEN, SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER
One of the country's biggest insurers has hired a Norwich agency to run a key plank of its online marketing.

The insurance division of Royal Bank of Scotland has taken on OMG Network to run most of its affiliate marketing programme.

It follows a three-month process that involved all OMG's major competitors making pitches.

The contract includes Direct Line's and Churchill's full range of general insurance and life insurance products as well as car and home products for Privilege and Natwest, and Devitt motorcycle insurance.

Affiliate marketing is a way of selling products or services over the internet that allows advertisers to promote their wares through specialist websites.

OMG, which employs about 60 people, manages the network of affiliate websites on behalf of advertisers, looking after which adverts are used where and managing relations between the affiliates and advertisers.

The principle of affiliate marketing is moving from being a niche practice to becoming a mainstream idea, and it is the fastest growing form of online advertising.

"As a result of the RBS affiliate network review, we are very pleased to be working with OMG exclusively on the RBS insurance brands," said David Catterall, RBS Insurance's head of e-business.

"[OMG has] shown exceptional account management and service that has added significant value to our programmes.

"We look forward to continued growth as a result of this, for both us and our affiliates."

OMG managing director Oli Matthews said: "We are absolutely delighted to win the RBS Insurance account on an exclusive basis.

"It has been an incredibly rigorous review and pitch process so it is especially pleasing to go under the microscope in such a way and come out on top.

"As well as being part of RBS, these are all major brands in their own right, and I'm in no doubt that our expertise in handling campaigns for big brands has contributed to our success."

OMG believes that the RBS deal - which is the biggest affiliate deal of the year - will cement its place as a market leader in the financial sector.

It also aims to move into sectors such as retail and travel and take on the incumbents that currently dominate those sectors. Other OMG clients include Norwich Union, Virgin, Marks & Spencer, RAC, CD Wow and Cancer Research UK.