EssenceMediacom has won Lion’s media planning and buying account, 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.
It had been widely felt in the industry that UM had produced strong work for Lion, which owns brands including XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn, Stone & Wood, James Squire and Furphy.
However, EssenceMediacom, part of WPP’s GroupM media arm, has managed to spirit it away from IPG Mediabrands’ UM. Back in 2016, AdNews placed the value of Lion’s media account at $54 million. B&T understands that the account could now 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.
It’s becoming clear that EssenceMediacom’s merger in Australia has been very successful indeed. It’s one of the reasons EssenceMediacom was named our Media Agency of the Year at 2024’s B&T Awards.
UM’s CEO Anathea Ruys told B&T: “We have loved working on the amazing Lion brands for such a long tenure. Our partnership across the Lion village has been so strong and we have so much respect for the agencies that work on the Lion account. The UM team that has contributed so significantly to Lion’s success is incredibly talented and I am proud to continue to work with them across other UM clients.”
Lion’s CMO, Glen Brasington said in a statement: “Following a significant procurement process, Lion Australia’s media account will be moving from incumbent agency UM Australia to EMC. Lion and UM Australia have had a10 year partnership together across the development and execution on many successful initiatives, including the multi award winning XXXX Postcodes of Origin and supporting Lion to win the 2024 B&T Marketing team of the year. UM Australia has played a significant role in shaping our business, including the restaging of XXXX, Hahn and Tooheys, and the launch of Hyoketsu. We wish to express our gratitude to UM for their ongoing service and dedicated partnership across our portfolio of brands.
“Looking forward, we welcome EMC to provide fresh perspectives and shared ambitions, and we are confident this new collaboration will support our continued growth into the future.”
EssenceMediacom declined to comment when reached by B&T. B&T has contacted Lion for comment.
