IPS marketing
The
Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is to embark on a marketing
campaign to persuade businesses to check staff passports and
national identity cards.
It announced today that it has contracted advertising agency
Proximity, part of the BBDO network, to develop below the line
promotional campaigns for ID cards, passports and the General
Register Office (GRO) for the next three to four years.
The contract supplements an earlier contract with Abbot Mead
Vickers BBDO for above the line work to promote passport
applications for first-time applicants and renewals, the Passport
Validation Service (PVS), the National Identity Service, including
validation services based upon data held on the national register;
and genealogical services from GRO.
The Central Office of Information (COI) was unable to say how
much the contracts were worth.
The latest
estimated
cost of the IPS for the next 10 years is £4.95bn. This includes
the issue of both passports and identity cards for UK citizens.
About 70% of it will go to implement
secure biometric passports.
Since 2005, accredited government departments and law
enforcement agencies, such as UK Border Agency, Security Industry
Authority (SIA), and the DVLA, have had direct web access to the
passport database.
PVS is the first business to business identity service offered
by IPS, and is part of the IPS mission to be the "trusted and
preferred provider of identity services", the COI said.