B&T’s New Business Winners for March told a somewhat familiar story, with Mindshare and Initiative continuing their hot streak on the podiums.
However, on the creative side, the newly combined Clemenger BBDO notched its first gold medal finish—though the pitching began in November before the merger was announced.
As ever, B&T’s New Business Winners round up the top-performing agencies for new business in the past month. Among those who didn’t quite make the podiums but are worthy of a nod are: Half Dome winning ABN Group Victoria, Mediahub expanding its relationship with iNova to New Zealand. Labellium also won the GHD media account.
CrOn the creative side, 303 MullenLowe’s Perth office won the WA Museum and City of Albany. Sunday Gravy narrowly missed out on the podium after winning Taubmans and Jnr. nabbed a tasty win with Muffin Break.
But onto the podiums.
Media Agencies
Bronze – Involved Media
Midway through March, indie agency Involved Media picked up CareSuper’s account.
Led by MD Sarah Keith, the agency will now be responsible for media strategy, planning and buying duties for CareSuper following a competitive review. The incumbent agency was Initiative.
Late last year, CareSuper merged with Spirit Super and now has more than 573,000 members and over $53 billion in funds under management.
“We were thoroughly impressed by Involved Media’s expertise, creative approach, and strategic insights,” said Sid Srinivasan, brand lead at CareSuper.
“Our team sees this partnership as a key milestone, and we look forward to working closely with them to continue delivering meaningful outcomes for our members.”
Silver – Initiative
Interpublic-owned agency Initiative has continued its hot streak into March. Last month, it Jo McAlister led the agency to top spot after it won the Netflix media account.
It also finished second in December’s rankings after it picked up the Volvo media account.
Now, it’s back on the second step of the podium after winning a “highly competitive” pitch for Aspen Parmacare Australia. It will work across its brand portfolio of well-known consumer healthcare brands such as Maltofer, Coloxyl, Ural and Dymadon.
Initiative’s remit includes all media buying, planning and strategy, as Aspen Australia seeks to grow its market-leading position in a competitive and regulated market.
Alison Holland, head of consumer OTC at Aspen Pharmacare said: “We are thrilled to partner with Initiative to enhance our consumer engagement and drive impactful connections in the healthcare space. This collaboration aligns with our commitment to delivering innovative, patient-centric solutions through strategic and data-driven media approaches.”
Gold – Mindshare
At the start of the month, it was announced that GroupM had retained EA’s huge global media account. However, B&T revealed that Mindshare was now holding the player one controller locally. It had sat with fellow GroupM agency T&Pm.
EA spent around US$375 million on advertising expenses in 2024—some AU$613 million, according to the current exchange rate between the Australian Peso and the Greenback.
The video game giant said that review was an opportunity to “strategically align EA’s global media approach with EA’s long-term vision”.
It also introduces a “fresh operating model”, new leadership oversight, and enhanced capabilities tailored to EA’s global ambitions.
“We were thoroughly impressed by the capabilities and strategic thinking demonstrated by all participating agencies,” said Nora Ahern, EA’s VP of growth marketing.
“GroupM stood out with their vision and approach, and we look forward to working with their team to bring these strategies to life.”
EA added that GroupM’s appointment “marks a new chapter” in its marketing evolution, “emphasising innovation, efficiency, and compelling storytelling to engage its expansive gaming audience worldwide”.
T&Pm, then known as MSix & Partners, was appointed in 2019 after EA ditched Publicis’ Starcom.
Creative Agencies
Bronze – Born
B&T’s Emerging Agency of the Year, Born, had a month to remember in March.
The Surry Hills agency won brand story and strategy work, to be followed with a brand refresh and update, for frozen yoghurt purveyors Yo-Chi.
Oliver Allis, Yo-Chi’s brand director, told B&T, “From the very first conversation, they truly listened and understood what we are about, and our vision. What they delivered exceeded our expectations and brought a new level of clarity and creativity to the Yo-Chi brand. We can’t wait to see what we create together next”.
“We’ve been big fans (and incredibly regular customers) of Yo-Chi for a while now, and so to be helping them take their story into the next stage of their growth is a huge honour. It’s been amazing—and inspiring—to get to know Oliver Allis and his vision for the business,” added David Coupland, Born’s co-founder and strategy boss.
Then, Born won the brand story, strategy and visual update work for Dymocks following a competitive pitch.
“To have been selected to help shape the next chapter of their story is incredibly meaningful for us. Opportunities like this are exactly why we founded Born. This is what we’re all about, and I have no doubt this project will be fundamental to our journey. Got a bit emotional writing that,” said Jenny Lennon, Born’s co-founder and creative director.
Silver – We Are Social
We Are Social has become something of a regular face on B&T’s New Business Winners of late, taking bronze in December.
This month, the agency has take silver after it was appointed as Lion’s social agency of record following a competitive pitch.
The partnership will see We Are Social working across XXXX, Hahn, Tooheys, Kirin Ichiban, and Kirin Hyoketsu to drive long-term brand growth through social.
We Are Social will provide a social-first approach to content creation, community management and campaign execution, ensuring Lion’s brands have a meaningful and engaging presence across platforms.
“We’re thrilled to welcome We Are Social into the Lion Pride! A great fit for our business with awesome talent and proven creativity for consumer impact. We’re excited about the partnership and the vision we share to connect Lion’s iconic brands with consumers across the dynamic social landscape,” said Chris Allan, connections director at Lion.
Gold – Clemenger BBDO
The newly merged Clemenger BBDO takes the top spot in its first month after winning the creative account for Kmart.
The agency, comprising CHEP, Clemenger and Traffik, and helmed by CEO Lee Leggett, chief strategy officer Simon Wassef and deputy chief creative officer Glen Dickson. It is currently looking for a new national chief creative officer. Senior outgoings include strategy guru Lilian Sor (who has moved to Howatson+Company), and CCOs Gavin McLeod and Adrian Flores.
Towards the end of March, it was announced in a contested exclusive for two other trade sites, that Clemenger has won Kmart’s creative account. The pitch began in November, well before the merger was announced in February.
Dentsu Creative was the incumbent, winning the account from DDB in 2022. DDB itself won the account from BWM Dentsu which had controlled it for nearly a decade. Dentsu Creative decided not to re-pitch for the account.
B&T spoke to top dog Leggett and she said the phone was “running hot” and that it had managed to keep all of its clients—bar one.
Some of the clients, such as Samsung and Carlton United Breweries, had already been working across Clemenger Group agencies prior to the merger, while a “unified approach” has been used for new business opportunities.
“Over the past 12 months, the agencies have been working much more closely together. There has been really good integration across the whole of the Clemenger group on major clients and new business,” said Leggett, the former CEO of CHEP, Wunderman Thompson and Initiative in Australia.
