It was a game of two halves for Dentsu’s largest media agency, Carat. 

The agency was on the front foot when it came to attacking new business opportunities, adding five clients including the South Australian Tourism Commission, Thermomix, Shark Ninja and FunLab.

Nonetheless, it was Carat’s defensive work that caught the eye. It retained parts of the South Australia Government Master Media Services contract, Endeavour, UNE and Greenstone, while extending its partnership with Barbeques Galore.

Perhaps the most important bit of business was a pitch that never happened. Industry rumours had circulated that Woolworths Group, easily Carat’s largest client, was getting itchy feet, but the agency, led by former Dentsu Media chief Danny Bass, convinced the Fresh Food people to extend its current contract.

That said, it wasn’t all smooth sailing as the agency lost several accounts including Hisense, Versuni (Philips, Senseo, Vision), Bosch and Arla Foods. The agency also declined to pitch for La Trobe University and Crown Resorts when these accounts went under review. 

Its annual billings grew by about 2 per cent to $445 million, according to COMVergence.

Carat’s leadership roster was in a state of flux in some states. South Australia GM Vikki Friscic left for a senior role at Seven and was succeeded by Adele Gibb. Sydney managing partner Lauren Small left for a role at Optus and was eventually replaced by Hiranthi (Harry) Jayaweera.

The other state captains are Victoria MD Richard Lehocz and Western Australia MD Jim Groves, whose team picked up silverware as Campaign Brief’s Media Agency of the Year.

Meanwhile, Dentsu made several cuts to Carat as part of a broader restructure across the group. It is unclear how deeply this impacted the Carat team, but a high-profile departure was a national chief investment officer Craig Cooper. 

Carat performed stoically in the face of a challenging season – a mid-table performance, although kicking a few important goals along the way. 

They retained some important accounts, Woolies and have had a busy transfer window. Time will tell if the leadership changes pay off in 2024.