Virgin Active appoints Marcus Brewster

The country's largest and most prestigious chain of health clubs, Virgin Active, has contracted Marcus Brewster Publicity to handle PR and media relations with immediate effect.

Virgin GM for Marketing, Tim Carter, said the appointment was in line with the gym group's intention to dominate the public mindspace when it came to exercise, wellness, training and fitness. "To achieve brand dominance, we wanted to work with an agency who combined ability, creativity and strategy and found that Marcus Brewster Publicity had unassailable credentials with these and other complementary service deliverables.

Amongst the high profile projects that Virgin Active will align with this year are hot button reality series like Project Fame and The Block, the SuperSport Charity Challenge and the ongoing Toyota Quest which finishes in December.

Commenting on the account gain, Brewster said that "Virgin's values of fun, innovation, value for money, great customer service and challenging the norm are so similar to our own that it's made for an effortless agency induction as it feels like we're on the same side of the fence in our approach to delighting clients".

Marcus Brewster Publicity won the account in a three way pitch against Total Media and Lange PR.