Asahi Beverages has picked Kerfuffle and BMF as its creative partners following a competitive review, B&T can reveal.
This means that Clemenger BBDO and Droga5 will part company with Asahi.
Under the remit, Kerfuffle will lead on Carlton, Great Northern, Vodka Cruiser, Woodstock and Schweppes, while BMF will lead work for Victoria Bitter, Hard Rated, Solo and Solo Energy.
Kerfuffle co-founder Ant Keogh was one of tne creatives behind one of Australia’s most iconic ads, Calton Draught’s ‘The Big Ad’ (see below).
Asahi said the appointments represent “a shift toward a more unified way of working with external partners” and is aligned to Asahi’s One Asahi philosophy, where the Asahi multi-beverage portfolio is “a connected total beverage offering rather than a collection of individual brands”.
As part of the move, Asahi Beverages will introduce an “Agency Council” model to enable all partners to collaborate closely, share expertise and tackle business opportunities collectively.
“We’re grateful for the time, energy and creativity all agencies brought to the competitive process and we congratulate our new partners on their appointment,” Asahi Beverages GM portfolio and brand marketing Lauren Fildes said.
“By appointing Kerfuffle and BMF alongside Mindshare and embedding a collaborative way of working where we share goals and plan together, we’re setting ourselves up to drive long- term value for the business.”
BMF CEO Stephen McArdle said: “The Asahi team are super smart, values-driven humans with a belief in creativity as a powerful force for brand growth. The fact that many of those brands are already iconic and help shape Australian culture makes this partnership unbelievably exciting.”
Kerfuffle CEO Paul McMillan added: “We’re genuinely grateful for the opportunity and the trust that the Asahi team have put in Kerfuffle. There are a lot of talented people and great agencies in this industry, so we’re incredibly proud that the work, thinking and chemistry of the Kerfuffle team resonated. It’s time to get to work.”
Recently, Asahi handed its media planning and buying duties to Mindshare. It has previously worked with Omnicom’s PHD, but the agency decided not to pitch for the account.
