British online DVD rental company ScreenSelect.co.uk named GFM, Colchester, England, to handle sales promotion for the brand.
The appointment precedes U.S. online DVD rental firm Netflix's imminent entry into the British market.
GFM already is negotiating with retail, consumer packaged goods and media brands for exclusive free trials of ScreenSelect's service. A promotion for a leading Sunday tabloid has just been created.
A 12-year-old agency 50 minutes from London's Liverpool Street, GFM (www.gfm.co.uk) specializes in promotional concepts, database design management and inhouse response handling facilities. Clients include Conde Nast, Telegraph Group Ltd., BBC Worldwide, Associated Newspapers, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Bourne Leisure Ltd. and Sky Television.
ScreenSelect, launched in September by William Reeve and Alex Chesterman, claims to offer the largest selection of DVDs in Britain, roughly more than 10 times that of an average video rental store.
Similar to the Netflix model, ScreenSelect subscribers pay a flat fee to rent three DVDs at any one time from a library of 20,000 titles. The rate is about $30 a month, with no late fees and no postage charges.
Amazon.co.uk founder Simon Murdoch and a few members of his launch team backed and advised ScreenSelect.
