May was a quieter month for the creative side of the ad industry on the new business front. But there were two significant wins for Australia’s media agencies—both of which you read first in B&T.
Before we get to the New Business Winner podiums, here’s a roundup of the wins that didn’t make it.
Born, B&T’s Emerging Agency of the Year, won the brand consolidation work for Unity Bank following its merger with G&C Mutual Bank. Born had been Unity Bank’s existing agency.
Fellow Surry Hills creative shop Howatson+Company won the creative account for the Australian Financial Review, it also retained the University of New South Wales account for media, creative and production having first been appointed for media in 2022, followed by creative and production in 2023.
Emotive won the creative account for Perfection Fresh and PR firm Inside-Out won the Byron Yoga account.
Australia’s media agencies had a similarly quiet month, compared to most. Avenue C won Zip Water Co and Kaimera won SXSW Sydney. Awaken won the digital media for Smeg.
There was also the small matter of WPP’s Open X retaining the creative and media services of Coca-Cola outside the Americas. It’s a huge piece of business, to be sure, but it’s a contract renewal, rather than a new win.
But onto the podiums.
Media Agencies
Bronze – Principle Media Group
Principle Media Group (PMG) had a strong month, notching the media planning and buying account for Vocus, which owns the Dodo and iPrimus telcos.
The account was previously held by Initiative and is thought to be worth more than $15 million.
“We were incredibly impressed with the offering and insights presented by PMG through the process. They stood out with their sharp thinking, data-driven approach and understanding of our brands as well as the rapidly evolving Australian media landscape,” said Tony Timpanaro, GM – marketing, Vocus.
Silver – EssenceMediacom
At the start of the month, B&T revealed that EssenceMediacom had won the media planning and buying account for Lion, taking it from nine-year incumbent UM.
B&T revealed that the account was out for a periodic review in March as part of normal business procedure, with a Lion spokesperson telling us that the review was “not a reflection of the performance of our partners”. They also confirmed the review extended only to Lion’s media agency.
But EssenceMediacom managed to crack open the account, which we understand could be worth in the region of $60 million. This Lion win is another feather in the cap for EssenceMediacom’s CEO Pippa Berlocher and the team. It retained the Queensland Government’s $60 million media account last June, two months later, it won the highly coveted $60 million Specsavers media account. In January, it won the account for Warner Bros. Discovery’s new streaming service, Max.
Gold – PHD
Late one Friday afternoon, the B&T team revealed that PHD had won Bunnings’ media account, with the Melbourne office in charge.
The incumbent on the account was IPG’s Initiative, which had held the account since 2010, with reports at the time suggesting its annual media billings were around $40 million. It’s safe to say that number is likely to be significantly larger now.
In the past year, PHD has had some notable wins, including Zurich and Asahi, while retaining Volkswagen Group – one of its largest clients.
Creative Agencies
Bronze – TEAM LEWIS
We’re starting off the New Business Winners with something slightly different this month. PR and communications shop TEAM LEWIS notched three impressive client wins in May in global tech firms Cognizant, Wasabi Technologies and NinjaOne.
“TEAM LEWIS is hungry to drive success, consistently bringing creative ideas to the table and providing strategic guidance that’s allowed us to build meaningful awareness for our brand. Not to mention, their grit is unmatched, and they make the work fun,” Lauren Bogoshian, senior director of global communications at NinjaOne said.
“Their client relations are top notch, always operating with a can-do attitude with positive, insightful discussions with Wasabi leadership and their comms team stakeholders,” Natassia Culp, global corporate communications lead, Wasabi Technologies added.
“We have worked with TEAM LEWIS in other markets for a number of years, so when we decided to seek a new agency partner in Australia, TEAM LEWIS was the obvious choice. From the get-go, the team’s enthusiasm, strong media relationships and strategic insights have helped us drive meaningful coverage and increase brand visibility,” Sarah Douglas, senior director of communications EMEA & APJ at Cognizant said.
Silver – 72andSunny
72andSunny is continuing its streak on the podiums after winning picking up a gold medal last month for its Big W win. This month, the team will have to settle for a silver after winning Princess Cruises. The agency has been charged with developing a local brand positioning and campaign to drive brand familiarity, consideration and preference with a new generation of Aussie consumers by the global cruise line.
“We appointed 72andSunny due to their belief in Optimism and their expertise working with modern global and Australian brands and their ability to connect these with modern Australian audiences,” Nick Ferguson, senior director, sales and marketing – Asia Pacific, Princess Cruises said.
Gold – Hello
Hello (formerly Hello Social) picked up one of the tastiest wins in recent months after it nabbed the full-service account for new chicken chain Wingstop.
The chain has more than 2,500 stores around the world and has legions of devoted fans. Hello will lead brand, creative, media, earned, experiential, digital, social, collaborator, in-store, POS/retail, one-to-one and loyalty programs for the business.
“After externalising our full-service offering in January, this is a huge validation of our ‘Creative Intelligence’ methodology and ‘Brand Experience for the Digital Era’ model,” Sam Kelly, Hello’s managing partner said.
“Wingstop is one of the world’s most exciting brands. They have a rich history and well-established presence in the US as sponsors of the NBA and UFC. Conversely, in emerging markets like the UK, they have won over Gen Z by tapping into culture and letting collaborators lead.
“Our approach locally will focus on a combination of big brand-building and activating Gen Z trendsetters in new media environments. This is a brand that doesn’t do quiet, and like the flavour: we’re here to make noise.”
