Financial giant seeks agency to develop UK brand identity.

Axa, the French financial services company, has kicked off a search for an advertising agency to handle its £15 million UK creative account.

The pitch, which is being handled by creativebrief, comes as the company looks to produce a new UK brand identity across its insurance, pensions, healthcare, protection and lifecover products.

Axa is expected to make a decision by January. The account, which does not have a UK incumbent, is understood to include TV, radio, print, press and digital.

Over the past six months, the company has conducted extensive research with customers, intermediaries and staff to develop its "trust" proposition to address customers' disillusionment with financial services companies. The results of the research are expected to form a key part of the creative brief.

Up until now, the bulk of the company's global marketing has been handled by a roster of agencies, including Grey, which adapts work on a market-by-market basis. Other agencies on its UK roster include the integrated agency WFCA and Beattie McGuinness Bungay, which won a place on the roster earlier this year after it was handed the Axa Solutions business-to-business account.

Axa finished its search for a media agency in September by splitting its media planning and buying account between Media Planning Group and MindShare. The pitch originally involved Carat and the incumbent, OMD Connect.

Its last major TV ad, "building blocks", created by Grey, ran in October 2006 and featured a father returning home to find his daughter spelling out "paleontologist" with her toys. The ad used the brand's "You can't plan for life but you can plan for living" proposition and attempted to encourage people to consider their long-term financial plans.