Tesco shifts CR task to 35 Communications

Tesco has dropped Corporate Edge as its corporate communications consultancy after seven years, and appointed 35 Communications in its place. 35 beat three other consultancies – the incumbent, Salter Baxter and Addison – to clinch the £300 000 deal.

The 12-month contract includes the design and production of Tesco’s annual report, its corporate and social responsibility report, information on its annual general meeting, and its annual review and other important communications projects.

The pitch longlist is understood to have been whittled down from about seven consultancies. Further decisions were thought to have been made after chemistry meetings and presentation of concepts.

Creative Brief handled the pitch, while Tesco’s community and government director David North, in conjunction with social responsibility director Ruth Girardet, oversaw the process. The shift in corporate communications from print to on-line, as well as the increasing corporate social responsibility legislation are thought to have prompted Tesco to change its approach to corporate reporting.

Initiatives such as the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and the UK Companies Act 2006 have made corporate reporting as routine as financial reporting. Tesco’s corporate social responsibility agenda divides into four areas – economy, environment, society and charities. The supermarket widely promotes its computers for schools scheme.

In April, it pledged to reducing packaging on branded and ownbrand products by 25 per cent before 2010