Vizzavi, the multi-access portal owned jointly by Vivendi Universal and Vodafone, has confirmed it has hired WCRS to handle its European advertising business.

The task, which involves building brand awareness quickly and encouraging customer acquisition, is worth up to £100m.

Vizzavi's consumer campaign will run across five territories: UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

It will be led by WCRS London with support from agencies in its European network.

WCRS scooped the account from Vizzavi's incumbent agency Publicis, while other agencies shortlisted were BMP DDB, Bates UK and D'Arcy.

The news is a welcome boost to WCRS, which was ditched by long-term client Orange last year.

"While WCRS's knowledge of the mobile arena was advantageous, its strategic thinking and brand positioning work won it the account," said Guy Laurence, Vizzavi's chief marketing officer.

At the beginning of this month, Vodafone appointed WCRS to its £48m UK advertising account.

The agency is also pitching for Vodafone's wider global business.

Vizzavi was unveiled in the UK last summer with a press and poster advertising blitz but it has since maintained a low profile.

The service is available online and via Wap devices but the company wants to roll it out to other platforms, including digital television.

The branded multi-access portal will compete with the US giants AOL Time Warner and Yahoo!

Optimedia and CIA Medianetwork are understood to be fighting for Vizzavi's media buying account.

The company said it would announce the winner of this pitch shortly.