The EUR 5m-a-year contract, which was signed at the end of January, covers nine countries across Europe, including the UK, France and Spain, and expands on a previous three-year deal that covered three countries, centred on the Netherlands.

The contract renewal and expansion follows an initiative between IBM and Sara Lee, which reviews global strategic partnerships for various categories of spend, including printed marcomms.

Robert MacMillan, chief executive of HH Associates, said: "IBM picked up a wider contract with Sara Lee about six months ago and that accelerated the roll-out of our relationship with them.

"The previous deal in the Netherlands was very much focused on printed items and standard point of sale material and this will take us into digital and permanent point of sale.

"It's taken us into some more of the eastern European markets and there's an opportunity for us to upsell more services to them, including things like studio services."

A joint HH and IBM implementation team is managing the phased roll-out to the new countries by assessing the individual spend and workflow profile of each region to ensure savings can be maximised at the earliest opportunity.

The HH account team consists of 18 people and will provide a combination of online procurement and asset management and will function as a hub between Sara Lee's marketing departments and creative agencies and suppliers.

"We are delighted to be delivering significant savings and support Sara Lee's marketing teams with our specialist knowledge, as well as working together with IBM as a strategic partner," added MacMillan.