The Identity and Passport Service has signed up an advertising agency to develop campaigns for its services.

Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO won the contract following a three-way pitch organised by the Central Office of Information against CHI & Partners and VCCP. It will work in all media across the agency's entire area of work, including identity cards, passports and the General Register Office (GRO).

No firm plans are yet in place. The spokesperson said: "The next step is working to develop a campaign to support all the products the IPS offers."

James Hall, IPS chief executive, said: "IPS needs an agency to support the development of a creative strategy targeting a variety of audiences across all our work, including the National Identity Scheme. Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO has shown a high degree of creativity and some excellent long term strategic thinking."

Meanwhile, immigration minister Phil Woolas has said that by 26 February 2009 the IPS had issued 10,596 identity cards to foreign nationals in the UK since it began the process in December. He was responding to a parliamentary question from Conservative MP Michael Ancram.

This article was originally published at Kablenet.

Kablenet's GC weekly is a free email newsletter covering the latest news and analysis of public sector technology. To register click here.

Related stories

• Moneymaker clinches licence to print passports (12 June 2009)
• Home Office: IPS to hang onto snaps of fingerprints (19 May 2009)
• ID scheme will cost £400m annually (11 May 2009)
• Home Office details early ID vendors (24 March 2009)
• Cops wanted compulsory DNA cards (20 March 2009)
• Government flags ID cost increase (18 March 2009)
• IPS dismissed 14 over data protection (31 October 2008)