Sydney independent agency The Works has pulled off a major coup with a joint-venture with two prestigious international agencies to win the global Jim Beam account from a string of international networks.
They have partnered with Germany’s Jung von Matt, which won Independent Agency of the Year at Cannes in 2010, and US agency StrawberryFrog, to hold off competition believed to be McCann, DDB and Ogilvy in the pitch.
The Works has held Jim Beam locally for a decade, whilst the other two also provide local creative, but it is believed to be the first time the brand has looked for a global network of agencies to provide work.
Damian Pincus, creative partner and founder of The Works said: “We have gradually increased our activity on the account over the years and now we have the biggest opportunity of all, the chance to play a major role in its first global campaign.
“The win shows that you don’t need to be an international network to win international business. Geography is no longer important when it comes to advertising but great ideas told well remains the gold standard.”
It is not known at this stage whether the three agencies will look to go after any more global work with the new joint venture, called FutureWorks.
Pincus added: “All three agencies worked extremely closely and collaboratively to win the business.
“Through the joint venture we’ll bring Jim Beam’s vision for a global marketing platform to life. We look forward to partnering with two of the most highly regarded and critically acclaimed shops in the world in what we hope will be the start of productive partnership.”
StrawberryFrog has been around since 1999 and was the world’s first movement marketing agency, and works across clients including Emirates and Heineken.
Jung von Matt triumphed picked up the Grand Prix in the outdoor category at Cannes last year for the Mercedes Benz Invisible Drive campaign, and has offices in Austria and Switzerland.
